The making of the Australian literary imagination / Richard Nile.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nile, Richard.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Australian literature--History and criticism.

Australian literature.

Authors and publishers--Australia--History--20th century.

Authors and publishers.

Civilization.

History.

Australia--Civilization--20th century.

Australia.

Physical Description:

315 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

St. Lucia, Qld. : University of Queensland Press, 2002.

Summary:

In this controversial and engrossing study, Richard Nile debunks some of the powerful myths of cultural nationalism and observes its passing in favour of the celebrity author. He explores the power of nationalism as a governing force in the creation and ultimate demise of Australian literature, In a clear and accessible way, Nile invokes the stylistic possibilities of narrative history and creative non-fiction, playfully blurring the lines between them. The Making of the Australian Literary Imagination moves from literary London to the delights of Australian bookshops, gets inside Angus and Robertson and interrogates the politics of reputation. It investigates censorship and patronage, paperback heroes and the able-bodied writer, and explores cinema and literature in the century that quite clearly belonged to the novelist.

Contents:

Introduction: Laurie Muller's Bad Language 1

Part 1 The Culture Takers

Chapter 1 Literary London 17

Chapter 2 Dubious Cartographies 27

Chapter 3 The Spoils of Empire 37

Chapter 4 The Literature Buries its Dead 51

Chapter 5 The Dapper Mr Bermingham 61

Chapter 6 Jack Idriess' Pencil Box 69

Part 2 Creative Industries

Chapter 7 Paperback Heroes 83

Chapter 8 The Century Belongs to the Novelist 97

Chapter 9 Performing Poetry 109

Chapter 10 Consuming Passions 121

Chapter 11 The Cinematics of the Novel 133

Part 3 Canons and Contexts

Chapter 12 The Politics of Mr Palmer's Acquaintance 147

Chapter 13 Civilising Nationalism 157

Chapter 14 A Nation of Scribblers 167

Chapter 15 A Trade Union of Writers 185

Chapter 16 The Sacred Text 199

Part 4 Literary Democracy

Chapter 17 Dead Poets Society 215

Chapter 18 National Efficiency 227

Chapter 19 The Able-Bodied Writer 235

Chapter 20 Sex and Sedition 247

Chapter 21 The Political is Personal 261

End: The Classing Gaze of Watchers 273.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0702231657

OCLC:

51441061