AustLit

'Australian voters are not being told the truth about the proposal for constitutional recognition of indigenous people. The goal of Aboriginal political activists today is to gain ‘sovereignty’ and create a black state, equivalent to the existing states. Its territory, com­prising all land defined as native title, will soon amount to more than 60 per cent of the whole Australian continent. Constitutional recognition, if passed, would be its ‘launching pad’. Recognition will not make our nation com­plete; it will divide us permanently.' (Publication summary)

'What does it take to be a successful writer in Australia? Alan Gould draws on his experience of more than forty years as a published poet and novelist to explore the ways in which poems and novels are written and read. No Australian has a better understanding of the writer’s craft and, in the clear, original style that is his hallmark, Gould shares his successes and failures as a writer, his knowledge of Australian literary culture, and the motivations and reflections that underlie the writing life. He also assesses the work of some of his contemporaries—from Rosemary Dobson and Alex Miller to Philip Hodgins and Sonya Hartnett.' (Publication summary)

'Growing old is an aspect of the human experience only thinly covered in literature. When he reached seventy, Frank Devine decided to add to the subject by writing on what it feels like to grow old and how to do it well.

With humour and extraordinary passion for life he writes about being home alone when his wife is hospitalized, on being a grandparent, on long-term marriage, his cancer treatment and the proper attitude and attire of a man his age. He also looks back on his career in newspapers and discusses good writers and great men.

In this celebrated book a retired journalist turns himself into one of our great essayists.' (From the publisher's website.)