-
Oct 23, 2024 | 
theconversation.com | Jen Webb
Crime fiction is one of the most successful genres. Its titles fill bestseller lists around the world and provide hours of pleasure to its many readers – including me, a long-time fan of the form. There are various views about why it is so popular. Many offer a variant of Aristotle’s theory of tragedy, which crime novelist Dorothy L. Sayers explains at some length and with satisfying clarity. Aristotle argued that tragedy allows us to experience pity and terror, leading to emotional catharsis.
-
Aug 21, 2024 | 
theconversation.com | Jo Case |Aidan Coleman |Alexander Cothren |Alexander Howard |Ali Mohammad Alizadeh |Amanda Tink | +44 more
Like so many avid readers around the world, I was fascinated by the recent New York Times list of the Best Books of the 21st century, as voted by 503 authors, critics and book lovers. But like many Australians, I was disappointed to see no Australian books on the list. Even those authors who’ve made a splash in the US literary scene this century – Helen Garner, Gerald Murnane, Maria Tumarkin – didn’t get a guernsey. That’s where we come in.
-
Aug 13, 2024 | 
theconversation.com | Jen Webb
The first volume of Pat Barker’s trilogy of the Trojan conflict starts with an epigraph taken from Philip Roth’s The Human Stain: “All of European literature springs from a fight”. This reduction of the conventional view of war to a mere “fight” acts as a coda for the whole series, establishing an iconoclastic view of war; one that largely ignores the guts-and-glory narratives.
-
May 12, 2024 | 
dailybulletin.com.au | Jen Webb
There have been many Australian publications about refugees and asylum seekers. Many are memoir or reportage. Perhaps the best known is Behrooz Boochani’s autobiographical No Friend But the Mountains (2018). But there is also a body of such narratives written in the form of fiction. Think of Maxine Beneba Clarke’s Foreign Soil (2014), E. Lily Yu’s On Fragile Waves (2021), or Zaheda Ghani’s Pomegranate and Fig (2022).
-
May 7, 2024 | 
tolerance.ca | Jen Webb
© 2024 Tolerance.ca® Inc. All reproduction rights reserved. All information reproduced on the Web pages of www.tolerance.ca (including articles, images, photographs, and logos) is protected by intellectual property rights owned by Tolerance.ca® Inc. or, in certain cases, by its author. Any reproduction of the information for use other than personal use is prohibited.
-
May 7, 2024 | 
theconversation.com | Jen Webb
There have been many Australian publications about refugees and asylum seekers. Many are memoir or reportage. Perhaps the best known is Behrooz Boochani’s autobiographical No Friend But the Mountains (2018). But there is also a body of such narratives written in the form of fiction. Think of Maxine Beneba Clarke’s Foreign Soil (2014), E. Lily Yu’s On Fragile Waves (2021), or Zaheda Ghani’s Pomegranate and Fig (2022).
-
May 7, 2024 | 
thetimes.com.au | Jen Webb
There have been many Australian publications about refugees and asylum seekers. Many are memoir or reportage. Perhaps the best known is Behrooz Boochani’s autobiographical No Friend But the Mountains[1] (2018). But there is also a body of such narratives written in the form of fiction. Think of Maxine Beneba Clarke’s Foreign Soil[2] (2014), E. Lily Yu’s On Fragile Waves[3] (2021), or Zaheda Ghani’s Pomegranate and Fig[4] (2022).
-
Dec 4, 2023 | 
hashtag.net.au | Jen Webb
We asked 20 of our regular contributors to nominate their favourite books of the year. Their choices were diverse, intriguing and sometimes surprising. Whether you’re looking for something relaxing or stimulating, educational or enchanting, this selection is a great way to plan your summer reading – or simply add to your bedside book tower. Edwina Preston Read more https://theconversation.com/best-books-of-2023-our-experts-share-the-books-that-have-stayed-with-them-214578
-
Dec 4, 2023 | 
theconversation.com | Jen Webb |Alexander Howard |Alice Gorman |Anna Clark |Carl Rhodes |Carol Lefevre | +13 more
Jen Webb has received funding from the Australian Research Council. Anna Clark has received funding from the Australian Research Council. Edwina Preston has received funding from Australia Council for the Arts and Creative Victoria. She is currently employed by the Australian Education Union Heidi Norman is affiliated with the University of Technology Sydney where Graham Akhurst is also a colleague. Julienne van Loon receives funding from Creative Victoria.
-
Nov 28, 2023 | 
thewire.in | Jen Webb
BooksHistoryWomen8 minutes agoThe “actual impulse of astonishment” that sparks all philosophising is “honest bafflement that other people live as they do,” writes Wolfram Eilenberger in his new book, The Visionaries. It’s a wild ride through ten of the worst years in the 20th century, spanning the period from 1933, the year Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany, to 1943 and the thick of the second world war.
