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The Diary of Jeremy Prior single work   children's fiction   children's  
Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 The Diary of Jeremy Prior
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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Spiral Travelled : An Exegesis with Accompanying Novel: The Diary of Jeremy Prior Allan Robins , Adelaide : 2007 Z1528483 2007 single work thesis 'Since colonisation, representations of Indigeneity in Australian children's literature have evolved from racist denigration to more respectful egalitarianism. Such representations however, are open to criticism on grounds of cultural appropriation and doubts about the ability of non-Indigenous writers to legitimately or adequately represent Indigeneity. Yet the failure to represent would erase Indigenous presence from non-Indigenous texts: a literary terra nullius. Within what contexts, then, might representations be legitimate, appropiate, and ethical? This thesis, therefore, comprises two Parts: 'The Diary of Jeremy Prior', a novel for older children; and 'The Spiral Travelled', an exegesis which explores the discursive formation of the novel's writing subject (in this case, the same person as the theoretical writing subject) and its effect on the novel's representations of indigeneity. The exegesis tells a story of the synthesis of a body of theory through a narrative comprising four generic 'strands': an allegorical fiction; aotobiographical interludes; academic endnotes; and footnoted commentary. The fictional strand's two structural principles - the association of knowledge with place, and the model of the spiral - guide two characters (representing aspects of the author's subjectivity) on their quest for tools with which to analyse the representational practices of the novel.' (Libraries Australia record) Adelaide : 2007
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Works about this Work

A Spiral Bridge Allan Robins , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , October vol. 14 no. 2 2010; 'Commencing tertiary students in writing and communications programs often struggle to absorb literary and cultural theory as it is presented in existing texts. Finding alternate strategies for presenting such material might prove productive. One possible alternate strategy evolved from the preparation of the theoretical component of my PhD thesis, during which I realised that I was telling a story not only about the object of analysis (the creative artefact), but also about the very selection and synthesis of theory for my epistemological apparatus. Forming the view that the discursive and experiential composition of a writing subject is central not only to literary practice but also to critical and theoretical practice, I recognised this as one of the defining attributes of a fictocritical approach, which validates exploration, construction and application of literary theory by using the textual strategies, traditions and conventions of literature itself, so that theory might ‘don the clothing’ of literature and ‘walk about in it’, much as an actor does to understand and interpret a character for an audience. Thus writing literary and cultural theory into a narrative might prove useful for commencing tertiary students, who are likely to be familiar with literary strategies and conventions.' (Author's abstract)
Representing Indigeneity: A Reflection on Motivation and Issues Allan Robins , 2008 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , April vol. 12 no. 1 2008; Author's abstract: Non-Indigenous Australian authors representing Indigeneity in their work need to address a number of issues, including the fundamental question of whether to do so. Having incorporated representations of Indigeneity in a children's novel written as part of my PhD thesis, I traced the origins and evolution of my representational practices in the novel through the other component of the thesis, a multi-genre exegesis. The processes of writing both components raised a range of issues, including questions of motivation; my right, responsibility and competence to represent; and the strategies employed in both components to address some of these questions. In this paper I reflect on these issues, and conclude that my efforts have been unavoidably far from perfect, yet worthwhile as a stage in ongoing negotiations of meaning and power between non-Indigenous and Indigenous cultures in Australia, and that non-Indigenous writers like myself need to be conscious that our efforts are never, and can never be, purely benevolent and/or selfless.
The Spiral Travelled Allan Robins , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Spiral Travelled : An Exegesis with Accompanying Novel: The Diary of Jeremy Prior 2007;
The Spiral Travelled Allan Robins , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Spiral Travelled : An Exegesis with Accompanying Novel: The Diary of Jeremy Prior 2007;
Representing Indigeneity: A Reflection on Motivation and Issues Allan Robins , 2008 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , April vol. 12 no. 1 2008; Author's abstract: Non-Indigenous Australian authors representing Indigeneity in their work need to address a number of issues, including the fundamental question of whether to do so. Having incorporated representations of Indigeneity in a children's novel written as part of my PhD thesis, I traced the origins and evolution of my representational practices in the novel through the other component of the thesis, a multi-genre exegesis. The processes of writing both components raised a range of issues, including questions of motivation; my right, responsibility and competence to represent; and the strategies employed in both components to address some of these questions. In this paper I reflect on these issues, and conclude that my efforts have been unavoidably far from perfect, yet worthwhile as a stage in ongoing negotiations of meaning and power between non-Indigenous and Indigenous cultures in Australia, and that non-Indigenous writers like myself need to be conscious that our efforts are never, and can never be, purely benevolent and/or selfless.
A Spiral Bridge Allan Robins , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , October vol. 14 no. 2 2010; 'Commencing tertiary students in writing and communications programs often struggle to absorb literary and cultural theory as it is presented in existing texts. Finding alternate strategies for presenting such material might prove productive. One possible alternate strategy evolved from the preparation of the theoretical component of my PhD thesis, during which I realised that I was telling a story not only about the object of analysis (the creative artefact), but also about the very selection and synthesis of theory for my epistemological apparatus. Forming the view that the discursive and experiential composition of a writing subject is central not only to literary practice but also to critical and theoretical practice, I recognised this as one of the defining attributes of a fictocritical approach, which validates exploration, construction and application of literary theory by using the textual strategies, traditions and conventions of literature itself, so that theory might ‘don the clothing’ of literature and ‘walk about in it’, much as an actor does to understand and interpret a character for an audience. Thus writing literary and cultural theory into a narrative might prove useful for commencing tertiary students, who are likely to be familiar with literary strategies and conventions.' (Author's abstract)
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Last amended 10 Sep 2008 16:49:00
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