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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Human's Changing Relationship to the Non-Human World
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Climate Change Narratives in Australian Fiction 2014; (p. 41-55) 'The environmental crises the human species faces are urgent. When the climate change literary critics Adam Trexler and Adeline John-Putra argue that climate change calls for a fundamental re-valuation of ourselves, even while it challenges us to put to use the critical cultural tools we have, 77 they are right. A fundamental re-evaluation is needed in face of the urgency, seriousness, complexity, immediacy, duration and global scope of the problems facing the human species. In the previous pages we have looked albeit briefly at some of the key novels addressing climate change scenarios which we can identify in Australian writing. Can the critics help us refine our concepts a little further?' (41) -
The Life and Opinions of D’Arcy D’Oliveres, Letter’d Gentleman
2013
single work
biography
— Appears in: Island , Spring no. 134 2013; (p. 65-70) 'Providing a detailed account of the early, and indeed the late, life of D'Arcy D'Oliveres - author, apiarist, amateur sleuth, alleged amputee, larrikin aristocrat, renaissance postman - presents the prospective biographer with a number of problems. For it is not only the case that the readily available details of D'Oliveres's life are incomplete, sketchy and, at times, contradictory: the primary source of information about his background and his exploits is D'Oliveres himself. And he is an idiosyncratic character, to say the least. His opinions are unusual in many respects. His autobiographical writings - such as they are - are by no means comprehensive and contain much that is questionable, if not deeply implausible. A genial sort of bloke, he is always willing to give visitors guided tours of the small town of Dog Rock - 'a trivial town, where nothing ever happens which is not essentially trivial' - where he spent many years in the employ of Australia Post. It must be said, however, that he is not always the most reliable of guides. For a period in the 1980s, he tried (unsuccessfully) to maintain the fiction among his fellow Dog Rockers that one of his arms had been amputated above the elbow. And when, in late-1996, rumours began to circulate that D'Oliveres, who is known to be partial to a smoke, had succumbed to cancer in the small town of Obliqua Creek in Far Eastern Gippsland, the rumours were not only greatly exaggerated; it turned out he started them.' (Publication abstract) -
David Foster and the Forests
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Perilous Adventures , vol. 09 no. 3 2009;
— Review of The Glade Within the Grove 1996 single work novel David Foster won the Miles Franklin prize for his 1996 novel, The Glade within the Grove, the culmination of a series of inventive, original books-including Mates of Mars (a satire on the loss of Australian warrior skills), and Moonlite (a satirical history of colonialism). The Glade is an extraordinary novel, full of wisdom and absurdity, lyrical writing about the Australian forests and rough comedy about Australian people. When he was writing the novel Foster told Erica Travers that he was looking for a religion to encompass a philosophy-a philosophy that might save the planet from the inevitable damage of human civilization: 'The new ethics that will have to come about will be so revolutionary they may discount the value of human life. Perhaps the life of a tree might come to mean more than the life of a man.' Like Simon Schama in his study of the place of trees and water in Western culture, Landscape and Memory (published about the same time) Foster saw Western civilization as the enemy of the forests. Indeed, he thought that the eucalyptus tree was the recalcitrant enemy of civilization, hence the ambivalent relationship of Australians to the native tree. Foster found a religion for this necessary philosophy in the ancient Phrygian devotion to the goddess Cybele, and the figure of Attis who was turned into a tree after self-castration. This religion was clearly a form of nature worship that recognized the destructive relationship of humans to the natural world. Its devotees performed annual Spring rituals of frenzied dancing and self-castration. Of course, Schama notes that the Christian devotion to the cross (even the Christmas tree) represents a similar acknowledgement that Christian civilization has destroyed trees. -
A Religion for a Philosophy: The Glade Within the Grove and The Ballad of Erinungarah
2008
single work
criticism
— Appears in: David Foster : The Satirist of Australia 2008; (p. 139-173) -
The Wood from the Trees : Taxonomy and the Eucalypt as the New National Hero in Recent Australian Writing
2004
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 3 no. 2004; (p. 81-94) Explores the cultural circulation of the Eucalyptus as represented in a variety of recent Australian texts.
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David Foster and the Forests
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Perilous Adventures , vol. 09 no. 3 2009;
— Review of The Glade Within the Grove 1996 single work novel David Foster won the Miles Franklin prize for his 1996 novel, The Glade within the Grove, the culmination of a series of inventive, original books-including Mates of Mars (a satire on the loss of Australian warrior skills), and Moonlite (a satirical history of colonialism). The Glade is an extraordinary novel, full of wisdom and absurdity, lyrical writing about the Australian forests and rough comedy about Australian people. When he was writing the novel Foster told Erica Travers that he was looking for a religion to encompass a philosophy-a philosophy that might save the planet from the inevitable damage of human civilization: 'The new ethics that will have to come about will be so revolutionary they may discount the value of human life. Perhaps the life of a tree might come to mean more than the life of a man.' Like Simon Schama in his study of the place of trees and water in Western culture, Landscape and Memory (published about the same time) Foster saw Western civilization as the enemy of the forests. Indeed, he thought that the eucalyptus tree was the recalcitrant enemy of civilization, hence the ambivalent relationship of Australians to the native tree. Foster found a religion for this necessary philosophy in the ancient Phrygian devotion to the goddess Cybele, and the figure of Attis who was turned into a tree after self-castration. This religion was clearly a form of nature worship that recognized the destructive relationship of humans to the natural world. Its devotees performed annual Spring rituals of frenzied dancing and self-castration. Of course, Schama notes that the Christian devotion to the cross (even the Christmas tree) represents a similar acknowledgement that Christian civilization has destroyed trees. -
Postman's Knock
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24-25 February 1996; (p. rev 17)
— Review of The Glade Within the Grove 1996 single work novel -
Down in the Glades
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 2 March 1996; (p. 8)
— Review of The Glade Within the Grove 1996 single work novel -
Trapped in a '60s Dreamworld
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 19 March vol. 116 no. 6014 1996; (p. 81)
— Review of The Glade Within the Grove 1996 single work novel -
Saga and Ballad in the Valley
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , February-March no. 178 1996; (p. 41-42)
— Review of The Glade Within the Grove 1996 single work novel -
Franklin Winner Worked on Award-Winning Novel During Fellowship
1997
single work
column
— Appears in: Uniken , 13 June no. 430 1997; (p. 9) -
The Wood from the Trees : Taxonomy and the Eucalypt as the New National Hero in Recent Australian Writing
2004
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 3 no. 2004; (p. 81-94) Explores the cultural circulation of the Eucalyptus as represented in a variety of recent Australian texts. -
Tree-Dreaming : David Foster's The Glade within the Grove and William Robinson's Ancient Trees
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Studies , Winter vol. 18 no. 2 2003; (p. 35-50) This articles examines Foster's portrayal of the contradictory situation of Europeans in Australia as displayed in their relationship to trees. 'The paper considers the relationship of Foster's spiritual search with William Robinson's magnificent paintings of ancient trees.' (Author's abstract). -
Postman's Knock : Is David Foster a Clever Dick--Or What?
1997
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , vol. 56 no. 3-4 1997; (p. 686-696) -
A Religion for a Philosophy: The Glade Within the Grove and The Ballad of Erinungarah
2008
single work
criticism
— Appears in: David Foster : The Satirist of Australia 2008; (p. 139-173)
Awards
- 1998 shortlisted International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award — Single Work of Fiction
- 1997 winner Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 1996 shortlisted NBC Banjo Awards — NBC Banjo Award for Fiction
- 1996 shortlisted The Age Book of the Year Award — Fiction Prize
- 1996 winner James Joyce Foundation Suspended Sentence Award
Last amended 11 Jun 2020 14:43:39
Settings:
- New South Wales,
- 1960s
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