‘Poetry can break open locked chambers of possibility, restore numbed zones to feeling, recharge desire’ – Adrienne Rich Writing to the Wire is a collection of poems about Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. Featuring poetry from academics, writers, refugee advocates and refugees themselves, it is a powerful look at our national identity, namely,…
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A year or so ago, when the reality of my impending graduation from university and borderline-desperate financial situation hit me, I began applying for ‘professional jobs’ in a bid to pad out my resume. I traded in skater skirts, leather boots and brilliantly executed smoky eyes for pencil skirts, patent pumps and natural make-up. My…
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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if schools taught mapping using paintings and stories instead of drab contour lines? In her latest memoir, aptly named Position Doubtful – mapping landscapes and memories, artist and award-winning author Kim Mahood masterfully paints rich Australian landscapes and people. She paints using pigments. She paints with narratives. The book’s title takes…
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So Sad Today is a book of personal essays by Melissa Broder, detailing her struggles with addiction, anxiety, panic disorder, relationships and an overwhelming fear of death. The book originated from an anonymous Twitter account of the same name in 2012, tweeting about the human condition in catchy one-sentence bites that were in equal parts…
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“Good daughters hold their tongues, obey their elders and let their families determine their destiny. Rebellious daughters are just the opposite.” Rebellious Daughters is an anthology of essays by Australian female writers that explores rebellion, identity and the familial bond. Editors Maria Katsonis and Lee Kofman have curated a challenging and important collection of pieces….
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Lip Reading is a column about the books in our lives. Each month, Lip staff and writers share what books have obsessed, delighted, or even saddened them. What have you been reading? We’d love to hear your recommendations. — Donna Lu, Books & Literature Editor * Amy Nicholls-Diver I recently finished The Vegetarian, by Han Kang (translated…
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In Above Us Only Sky, Michele Young-Stone, an MFA grad and the author of The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors, once again digs into a quirky pseudo-realism that’s based in the great conflict of growing up. In an interview, she admits that Above Us Only Sky is a few different things rolled into one: it’s…
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Jo Baker’s A Country Road, A Tree is an emotive novel that spans the World War Two experiences of Nobel Prize–winning author and playwright Samuel Beckett. On the heels of Baker’s bestselling work Longbourn, an homage to Pride and Prejudice, her second novel shines under critical spotlight. Samuel Beckett is introduced to the reader first…
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Jane Harper’s debut novel The Dry is a compulsive read. It opens with an apparent double-murder/suicide in the drought-stricken farming community of Kiewarra in rural Australia. Aaron Falk, a Federal Police investigator and former Kiewarra resident, comes back for the funeral – but soon finds himself using his investigative skills when the facts of the…
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Alison Whittaker’s debut collection, Lemons in the Chicken Wire, is a refreshingly authentic and accessible new addition to the Australian poetry landscape. The collection is grounded in simplicity yet explores complex issues such as sexuality, racism and family negligence. Whittaker, who received the State Library of Queensland’s black&write! Indigenous Writing Fellowship, also explores the history…
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This is a review of a session held at the 2016 Sydney Writers’ Festival. * When I first entered the room and upon seeing so many older women, I was unsure if I would feel comfortable as a member of the new generation of feminism. I wondered whether Gloria Steinem, a prominent 82-year-old American…
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What is the role of a mother? And how does the relationship between a mother and her child shape that child’s life and actions? What makes some children grow up to be like their mothers, while others are motivated to turn away and do something completely different? The new book Things My Mother Taught Me…
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In 2000, Helen Garner was working on the story of Joe Cinque, a young civil engineer who was murdered by his girlfriend. She felt stuck—she had compiled long interviews with Cinque’s parents but had been refused any access to the two women charged with his murder. ‘I had no idea how to write the book,’…
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Sometimes, as a reader you’re lucky enough to chance upon a book that draws you in until you are so fully immersed in its world that it haunts you for days. Anna North’s The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is one such book. Indeed, the word ‘haunt’ is apt, as Sophie herself haunts the…
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