The literature of Australia: an introduction

Abstract

The result of a unique collaboration between Sydney's Macquarie University and International PEN Sydney Centre, funded by the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian Research Council, "The Literature of Australia" gathers the most distinctive and most significant of the nation's writing. The anthology covers 200 years of literature in all genres, from the 1700s to the present. With 500 entries from 315 different authors, it spans writing by Aboriginal authors from the early colonial period to work from contemporary authors including Kate Grenville, Peter Carey, David Malouf, Les Murray and Shirley Hazzard. With biographies of the authors, an introductory essay, major essays setting the works in their historical context and suggestions for further reading, "The Literature of Australia" offers readers a window into the myriad ways of being Australian. Forward to this book is written by Thomas Keneally.