Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Thursday 15 March
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Who tells the story of a country? What story does a country’s national literature tell about its people and its identity? Is there such a thing as Australian literature at all?
Australians are striding the global stage with unprecedented confidence in all manner of fields. But if university syllabuses are any indication, it seems that when it comes to Australian literature, the cultural cringe is alive and well.
With major universities offering only the bare minimum in courses on Australian writing and its authors, the Wheeler Centre is filling the breach. Australian Literature 101 is the university education in Australian literature you never had.
In this major new weekly series hosted by Ramona Koval, running in parallel with the university calendar, contemporary writers speak on seminal Australian texts, giving context, sharing their responses and exploring each work’s status as a classic of Australian literature. Join us to be part of a brand new assessment of our national literature.
This week, we explore The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson.
Featuring
Rodney Hall
Rodney Hall is the award-winning writer of of 36 books whose novels have been published across the world to widespread acclaim.
Rodney has twice won the Miles Franklin Award. Many of his books have been published in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia - and in translation into French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish and Korean. The New York Times hailed him as, ‘A thrillingly smart and juicy writer.’ He was poetry editor of The Australian for 11 years and Chairman of the Australia Council from 1991 to 1994. His latest book is a collection of short fiction called Silence, published by Pier 9.
Ramona Koval
Ramona Koval is a writer who has worked as a journalist and broadcaster. Her most recent books are A Letter to Layla: Travels to our Deep Past and Near Future, Bloodhound: Searching For My Father, and By the Book: A Reader’s Guide to Life (all published by Text). She was the editor of two volumes of Best Australian Essays (Black Inc.). Her notable literary interviews are collected in Speaking Volumes: Conversations with Remarkable Writers (Scribe).
From 2006 to 2011 she presented Radio National’s Book Show, and before that a series of ABC Radio programs since the 1980s, including the iconic Books and Writing. She has written for the Age, the Australian, The Saturday Paper, and many international literary publications and made radio documentaries for ABC and BBC World Service. She is currently an Honorary Fellow at Deakin University.
View Profile