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Author Dr Tony Birch.
Tony Birch Tony Birch i(A19090 works by) (a.k.a. Anthony Birch)
Born: Established: 1957 Melbourne, Victoria, ;
Gender: Male
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Irish ; West-Indian
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* AustLit's TAL data covers the period 2009-2016, with a small number of courses logged in 2008. Data for 2013 is estimated to cover only half of the eligible courses. Please use this data with caution and contact us if you plan to use it in research or analysis.

Details of Works Taught

Text Unit Name Institution Year
y separately published work icon Blood Tony Birch , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2011 Z1821176 2011 single work novel (taught in 5 units) 'Jesse has sworn to protect his sister, Rachel, no matter what. It's a promise that cannot be broken. A promise made in blood. But, when it comes down to life or death, how can he find the courage to keep it? Set on the back roads of Australia, Blood is a boy's odyssey through a broken-down adult world.
'Many of us have known for a long time what a wonderful storyteller Tony Birch is. Blood confirms it - and how. The terrain is hard, unflinching but also imbued with a deeply resonant humanism. For at its heart there is Jesse, the young narrator whose voice is urgent and compelling, sweet and direct.' Christos Tsiolkas (Source: Publisher website)
Another Country: Australian Literature Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) at UNSW 2014 (Semester 1)
y separately published work icon Blood Tony Birch , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2011 Z1821176 2011 single work novel (taught in 5 units) 'Jesse has sworn to protect his sister, Rachel, no matter what. It's a promise that cannot be broken. A promise made in blood. But, when it comes down to life or death, how can he find the courage to keep it? Set on the back roads of Australia, Blood is a boy's odyssey through a broken-down adult world.
'Many of us have known for a long time what a wonderful storyteller Tony Birch is. Blood confirms it - and how. The terrain is hard, unflinching but also imbued with a deeply resonant humanism. For at its heart there is Jesse, the young narrator whose voice is urgent and compelling, sweet and direct.' Christos Tsiolkas (Source: Publisher website)
World Literature in English II: Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific NYU - Sydney 2014 (Semester 1)
y separately published work icon Blood Tony Birch , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2011 Z1821176 2011 single work novel (taught in 5 units) 'Jesse has sworn to protect his sister, Rachel, no matter what. It's a promise that cannot be broken. A promise made in blood. But, when it comes down to life or death, how can he find the courage to keep it? Set on the back roads of Australia, Blood is a boy's odyssey through a broken-down adult world.
'Many of us have known for a long time what a wonderful storyteller Tony Birch is. Blood confirms it - and how. The terrain is hard, unflinching but also imbued with a deeply resonant humanism. For at its heart there is Jesse, the young narrator whose voice is urgent and compelling, sweet and direct.' Christos Tsiolkas (Source: Publisher website)
World Literature in English II: Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific NYU - Sydney 2015 (Semester 2)
y separately published work icon Blood Tony Birch , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2011 Z1821176 2011 single work novel (taught in 5 units) 'Jesse has sworn to protect his sister, Rachel, no matter what. It's a promise that cannot be broken. A promise made in blood. But, when it comes down to life or death, how can he find the courage to keep it? Set on the back roads of Australia, Blood is a boy's odyssey through a broken-down adult world.
'Many of us have known for a long time what a wonderful storyteller Tony Birch is. Blood confirms it - and how. The terrain is hard, unflinching but also imbued with a deeply resonant humanism. For at its heart there is Jesse, the young narrator whose voice is urgent and compelling, sweet and direct.' Christos Tsiolkas (Source: Publisher website)
World Literature In English II NYU - Sydney 2016 (Semester 1)
y separately published work icon Blood Tony Birch , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2011 Z1821176 2011 single work novel (taught in 5 units) 'Jesse has sworn to protect his sister, Rachel, no matter what. It's a promise that cannot be broken. A promise made in blood. But, when it comes down to life or death, how can he find the courage to keep it? Set on the back roads of Australia, Blood is a boy's odyssey through a broken-down adult world.
'Many of us have known for a long time what a wonderful storyteller Tony Birch is. Blood confirms it - and how. The terrain is hard, unflinching but also imbued with a deeply resonant humanism. For at its heart there is Jesse, the young narrator whose voice is urgent and compelling, sweet and direct.' Christos Tsiolkas (Source: Publisher website)
Reading Contemporary Fiction Victoria University 2014 (Semester 1)
Text Unit Name Institution Year
y separately published work icon Ghost River Tony Birch , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2015 8764472 2015 single work novel (taught in 1 units)

''You find yourself down at the bottom of the river, for some it's time to give into her. But other times, young fellas like you two, you got to fight your way back. Show the river you got courage and is ready to live.'

'The river is a place of history and secrets. For Ren and Sonny, two unlikely friends, it's a place of freedom and adventure. For a group of storytelling vagrants, it's a refuge. And for the isolated daughter of a cult reverend, it's an escape.

'Each time they visit, another secret slips into its ancient waters. But change and trouble are coming – to the river and to the lives of those who love it. Who will have the courage to fight and survive and what will be the cost?' (Publication summary)

Working Class Writing Victoria University 2016 (Semester 1)
Text Unit Name Institution Year
y separately published work icon The Promise : Stories Tony Birch , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2014 7277350 2014 selected work short story (taught in 3 units)

'Outstanding new fiction from the Miles Franklin-shortlisted author of Blood

'In this breathtaking new work, Tony Birch affirms his position as one of Australia’s finest writers of short-form fiction.

'Using his unflinching creative gaze, he ponders love and loss and faith. A trio of amateur thieves are left in charge of a baby moments before a heist. A group of boys compete in the final of a marbles tournament, only to find their biggest challenge was the opponent they didn’t see coming. Two young friends find a submerged car in their local swimming hole and become obsessed by the mystery of the driver’s identity.

'Across twelve blistering stories, The Promise delivers a sensitive and often humorous take on the lives of those who have loved, lost and wandered.' (Publication summary)

Australian Literature and Film Murdoch University 2016 (Semester 1)
y separately published work icon The Promise : Stories Tony Birch , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2014 7277350 2014 selected work short story (taught in 3 units)

'Outstanding new fiction from the Miles Franklin-shortlisted author of Blood

'In this breathtaking new work, Tony Birch affirms his position as one of Australia’s finest writers of short-form fiction.

'Using his unflinching creative gaze, he ponders love and loss and faith. A trio of amateur thieves are left in charge of a baby moments before a heist. A group of boys compete in the final of a marbles tournament, only to find their biggest challenge was the opponent they didn’t see coming. Two young friends find a submerged car in their local swimming hole and become obsessed by the mystery of the driver’s identity.

'Across twelve blistering stories, The Promise delivers a sensitive and often humorous take on the lives of those who have loved, lost and wandered.' (Publication summary)

Contemporary Australian Literature Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) 2014 (Semester 2)
y separately published work icon The Promise : Stories Tony Birch , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2014 7277350 2014 selected work short story (taught in 3 units)

'Outstanding new fiction from the Miles Franklin-shortlisted author of Blood

'In this breathtaking new work, Tony Birch affirms his position as one of Australia’s finest writers of short-form fiction.

'Using his unflinching creative gaze, he ponders love and loss and faith. A trio of amateur thieves are left in charge of a baby moments before a heist. A group of boys compete in the final of a marbles tournament, only to find their biggest challenge was the opponent they didn’t see coming. Two young friends find a submerged car in their local swimming hole and become obsessed by the mystery of the driver’s identity.

'Across twelve blistering stories, The Promise delivers a sensitive and often humorous take on the lives of those who have loved, lost and wandered.' (Publication summary)

Transnational Indigenous Literatures University of Wollongong 2016 (Semester 1)
Text Unit Name Institution Year
y separately published work icon Shadowboxing Tony Birch , Carlton North : Scribe , 2006 Z1244852 2006 selected work short story (taught in 2 units) 'A collection of ten linked stories in the life of a boy growing up in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy in the 1960s.' (publisher's blurb) Advanced Creative Writing University of New South Wales 2009 (Semester 2)
y separately published work icon Shadowboxing Tony Birch , Carlton North : Scribe , 2006 Z1244852 2006 selected work short story (taught in 2 units) 'A collection of ten linked stories in the life of a boy growing up in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy in the 1960s.' (publisher's blurb) Working Class Writing Victoria University 2015 (Semester 2)
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