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'Mistaken obsessions of the Australian intelligentsia. With his latest book, When London Calls – subtitled The expatriation of Australian creative artists to Britain – Stephen Alomes has made a timely intervention in the perennially simmering local dis- cussion about why the Australian expatriates went away and what should be thought about them by the cognoscenti who stayed put. As its provenance (Alomes is Senior Lecturer in Australian Studies at Deakin University) and panoply suggest, this is most definitely an academic work, but the reader need not fear being dehydrated by the postmodern jargon that threatened, until recently, to turn humanist studies in Australia into a cemetery on the moon.' (Introduction)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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When Australia Became a Nation
2000
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 4 February 2000;'Sir, – Like the Australian fireworks display over the Thames on New Year’s Eve, Clive James’s essay regarding my book, When London Calls: The expatriation of Australian creative artists to Britain (January 28), offered more smoke than impact. The “review” fails to come to terms with the argument of the book, nor does it let facts get in the way of a good story. In contrast to Mr James’s swipes (“most of the big names” I wanted to talk to wouldn’t waste their time), only a handful of the book’s subjects refused to be interviewed. Clive James was unique in agreeing to be interviewed and then, a few weeks later, changing his mind.' (Introduction)
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When Australia Became a Nation
2000
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 4 February 2000;'Sir, – Like the Australian fireworks display over the Thames on New Year’s Eve, Clive James’s essay regarding my book, When London Calls: The expatriation of Australian creative artists to Britain (January 28), offered more smoke than impact. The “review” fails to come to terms with the argument of the book, nor does it let facts get in the way of a good story. In contrast to Mr James’s swipes (“most of the big names” I wanted to talk to wouldn’t waste their time), only a handful of the book’s subjects refused to be interviewed. Clive James was unique in agreeing to be interviewed and then, a few weeks later, changing his mind.' (Introduction)
- When London Calls : The Expatriation of Australian Creative Artists to Britain 1999 single work criticism
