It’s always fantastic to see the work of emerging Australian writers receiving publication! In this case, by students of the UTS Writing Program.
I picked this up by happenstance, it was sitting on a display shelf at Chatswood Library and caught my eye. I’m not going to give a response to each text in this volume, as the number is too large (and I am too lazy). Nor am I going to single out any particular works, as I don’t think that would do justice to this project and its contributors.
This collection is a diverse feast, full of bold ideas and acute observations, as well as stuff that doesn’t quite come off. If you have the opportunity, pick this up and dive in. You probably won’t like all of it, but then, as Samuel Johnson (not the actor, the eighteenth century writer) would advise, you don’t have to read all of it.
Now, a bit of housekeeping. Over the last few months, my reading has focused on Australian female writers. They will remain a strong element of my reading list, but I will be broadening my scope from now on. And so next time, it will be Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man. Until then, happy reading!
foxing around the edges 