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'David Walsh - the creator of The Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Hobart - is both a giant and an enigma in the Australian art world. A millionaire who made his wealth gambling, he has turned a wild vision into a unique and bizarre reality, he is in turns controversial, mysterious and idolised. A Bone of Fact is his utterly unconventional, incredibly absorbing and brilliantly surprising memoir, about which he says:
'Stanislaw Lem, noted Polish science fiction author and notorious smartarse, once told an American colleague that his new collection of short stories would be published in a paper bag. This conjured a mental picture of the stories being selected by lucky dip. The idea that my life story could be told that way, without a disabling manifesto, is appealing.
'Unfortunately Mr Lem had actually said 'paperback' (his meaning concealed underneath his thick accent), a wholly ordinary practice to deliver extraordinary stories. My story lacks Mr Lem's magical reality and philosophy, and it also lacks a paper bag.~
'One friend who perused an early manuscript of A Bone of Fact suggested I consign it to a garbage can, and I like the idea. The idea of a vignette popping out every time you depress the foot-pedal is a good one. So if you are reading this after it having popped out of the trash I'm probably paying royalties.'
(Publication abstract)
Notes
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Dedication:
For Grace...
For Jamie...
For Misty and James...
For Zeljko...
But Not for Kirsha...
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Walsh Keeps Cards Close to His Chest
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 31 January 2015; (p. 23)
— Review of A Bone of Fact 2014 single work autobiography -
A Welcome Contradition
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Monthly , December no. 107 2014; (p. 42-47)
— Review of A Bone of Fact 2014 single work autobiography -
The Thinking Man’s Memoir
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 13-14 December 2014; (p. 26)
— Review of A Bone of Fact 2014 single work autobiography 'David Walsh’s autobiography establishes him as one of our most interesting writers, argues David Free.' -
Art and the Artless - The Life of an Accidental Collector
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 22 November 2014; (p. 25) The Sydney Morning Herald , 22-23 November 2014; (p. 33)
— Review of A Bone of Fact 2014 single work autobiography -
David Walsh's Catholic Guilt
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Eureka Street , 15 September vol. 24 no. 18 2014;
— Review of A Bone of Fact 2014 single work autobiography
-
Review : A Bone of Fact
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , vol. 94 no. 1 2014; (p. 24)
— Review of A Bone of Fact 2014 single work autobiography -
David Walsh, A Bone of Fact
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 4 - 10 October 2014;
— Review of A Bone of Fact 2014 single work autobiography -
David Walsh's Catholic Guilt
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Eureka Street , 15 September vol. 24 no. 18 2014;
— Review of A Bone of Fact 2014 single work autobiography -
Art and the Artless - The Life of an Accidental Collector
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 22 November 2014; (p. 25) The Sydney Morning Herald , 22-23 November 2014; (p. 33)
— Review of A Bone of Fact 2014 single work autobiography -
The Thinking Man’s Memoir
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 13-14 December 2014; (p. 26)
— Review of A Bone of Fact 2014 single work autobiography 'David Walsh’s autobiography establishes him as one of our most interesting writers, argues David Free.'
Awards
- 2015 longlisted Tasmania Book Prizes — Margaret Scott Prize
- 2015 longlisted Tasmania Book Prizes — Tasmania Book Prize
- 2015 winner Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Biography of the Year