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'There is a serial killer stalking the streets of Melbourne. The victims are killed gently, lovingly, a gold mark traced on their forehead. This killer doesn't hate children. This killer believes in childhood innocence at any cost...El Dorado is the story of a friendship under siege, and the very long shadows that jealousy and betrayal can cast.' - back cover
Notes
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Novel in verse form.
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Dedication: For Mark and Micky in the Mountains/ Para mi amigo Roberto en su finca/ And for the magic of snakes
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Epigraph: Gilgamesh said, 'May the dream come true. May the true friend appear, the true companion, who through every danger will stand at my side.' - Gilgamesh
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Epigraph: All children, except me, grow up. - J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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Epigraph: It is cold to be forever young. - Wallace Stevens, 'Variations on a Summer Day'
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
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The Silver Age of Fiction
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , Summer vol. 70 no. 4 2011; (p. 110-115)‘In human reckoning, Golden Ages are always already in the past. The Greek poet Hesiod, in Works and Days, posited Five Ages of Mankind: Golden, Silver, Bronze, Heroic and Iron (Ovid made do with four). Writing in the Romantic period, Thomas Love Peacock (author of such now almost forgotten novels as Nightmare Abbey, 1818) defined The Four Ages of Poetry (1820) in which their order was Iron, Gold, Silver and Bronze. To the Golden Age, in their archaic greatness, belonged Homer and Aeschylus. The Silver Age, following it, was less original, but nevertheless 'the age of civilised life'. The main issue of Peacock's thesis was the famous response that he elicited from his friend Shelley - Defence of Poetry (1821).’ (Publication abstract)
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Daemonic Currents in Dorothy Porter's Poetry
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 25 no. 1 2010; (p. 19-30) 'Although charged by the daemonic, the sacred and extreme, [Porter's] poetics is shot through, too, with awareness of fakery and illusion. Finally, the currents of Porter's work are connective, sparking off and from a lineage of charged poetry, especially, arguabley, of confessionalism, and a tradition of hierophantic poetics. This essay examines Porter's poetics within the context of this lineage' (19). -
What Kevin Read Next: PM Book Award Contest Begins
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 7 August 2008; (p. 4) -
Going for Gold
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: Lesbians on the Loose , May vol. 18 no. 5 2007; (p. 25) -
Books : Peter Pierce
2007-2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 18 December - 8 January vol. 125 no. 6600 2007-2008; (p. 145) Short impressions of books read by the author.
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Tall Tales and True in Chapter and Verse
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , May vol. 2 no. 4 2007; (p. 12-13, 27)
— Review of El Dorado 2007 single work novel ; Lawrie and Shirley, The Final Cadenza : A Movie in Verse 2006 single work novel ; Fredy Neptune 1998 single work novel 'Australian poets are leading a revival of the ancient art of the verse novel, a genre as user-friendly as movies that deserves a wider readership.' (Editor's abstract) -
[Review] El Dorado
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , April/May vol. 86 no. 8 2007; (p. 37)
— Review of El Dorado 2007 single work novel -
The Genre-Bender
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 291 2007; (p. 13)
— Review of El Dorado 2007 single work novel -
Crime Thriller Bursts into Verse
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 5 - 6 May 2007; (p. 33)
— Review of El Dorado 2007 single work novel -
Staccato Style Holds Rococo Emotion
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 19 May 2007; (p. 22)
— Review of El Dorado 2007 single work novel -
Venturing into Disturbing Terrain
2007
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 21-22 April 2007; (p. 12-13) -
What Lies Beneath
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 2 June 2007; (p. 11) -
Dorothy Porter in Conversation with Rosanna Licari
Rosanna Licari
(interviewer),
2007
single work
interview
— Appears in: Stylus Poetry Journal , July no. 26 2007; -
An Interview with Dorothy Porter
Maggie Ball
(interviewer),
2007
single work
interview
— Appears in: M/C Reviews , May 2007; -
Books : Peter Pierce
2007-2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 18 December - 8 January vol. 125 no. 6600 2007-2008; (p. 145) Short impressions of books read by the author.
Awards
- 2008 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Fiction
- 2008 nominated Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing — Best Novel
- 2007 shortlisted The Age Book of the Year Award — Dinny O'Hearn Poetry Prize
- Melbourne, Victoria,