Auscast Literature Channel

In September 1883, the South Australian town of Fairly huddles under strange, vivid sunsets. A child has gone missing and the whole town is intent on finding him. More than a mystery, Fiona McFarlane explores the varied townsfolks’ relationship with the complex landscape and unsettling history of the Flinders Ranges.  Tsundoku’s Annie Hastwell loved it from start to finish and joins the critics in their unanimous praise.

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Self-declared fan of Barry Humphries, Annie Warburton, reviews the late comic’s opus, pays tribute to his satirical genius and comes down firmly on the right of “grumpy old conservatives” to be free to speak their minds.

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Two very different takes on the Australian experience.

Guests

Fiona McFarlane, author of “The Sun Walks Down”, “The Night Guest” and a collection of short stories, “The High Places” 

http://www.fionamcfarlane-writer.com/

Annie Warburton, retired ABC Tasmania broadcaster and Barry Humphries aficionado

Other books that get a mention:

Cath and Annie mention this year’s joint Pulitzer Prize winners, Barbara Kingsolver for “Demon Copperhead” and Herman Diaz for “Trust”. They go on to reference a number of past winners; “The Good Earth” by Pearl Buck, “Beloved” by Toni Morrison, “A Visit from the Goon Squad” by Jennifer Egan, “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway, “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck and “A Confederacy of Dunces” by John Kennedy Toole.

Annie Warburton mentions “The Adventures of Barry McKenzie” written by Humphries for Private Eye magazine. Also, “Dame Edna's Coffee Table Book: A Guide to Gracious Living and the Finer Things of Life by One of the First Ladies of World Theatre”, “Neglected Poems and Other Creatures”, “More Please” and “Women in the Background”.

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Alex is in the Mastermind hot seat! Many years after writing Japanese/Australian rock musical Once Upon a Midnight, Alex is trying to remember what he was on about and why it was interesting. Luckily the Word Docs are on hand to tease all the shades of grey out of the process. Join us as we travel the world from our studio and explore the cultural conundrums that arise when mythology, nationality and generational identity intersect.

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The Word Docs are slowly catching up with this mysterious invention called BookTok where all the young people are. Together, the intrepid geriatrics will sort through the virtual shelves and explore their favourite tropes with the usual blend of light-hearted humour, emotional pain and existential despair. If you’re a morally grey villain, a soul in search of a mate or a grump with a heart of gold, this episode is all about you.

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We’re off the rails again! Amy is trying her best to keep the troops under control, but the troops are idiots. The sage advice of Anne Lamott is pearls before bewildered swine as Sean’s eerie chanting and Alex’s fear of naked cults turns a perfectly reasonable vegetable metaphor into something chilling. In this episode we will wonder... why did Sean give up meditation? Why the hell can’t Alex remember going to France? And what’s up with Amy and purple sharkskin suits?

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At first drawn to short stories, Louise Kennedy couldn’t resist expanding this ill-fated love story set at the peak of the Irish Troubles into a full and vividly depicted novel, “Trespasses”.

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Is it too much to say that the author of Captain Cook’s “Voyages”  was “cancelled” by his contemporaries and the sexual exploits of Joseph Banks “went viral”? Not according to US literary academic Saar Shahar who has researched the writings around Captain Cook’s voyages.

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The next best thing to reading is listening to writers talk about their creations.

Guests

Louise Kennedy, author of “Trespasses” and a collection of short stories “The End of the World is a Cul de Sac” 

Saar Shahar, 18th century scholar and PhD candidate in English at the University of Southern California,  puts the exploits of Captain Cook and Joseph Banks into historical literary context with surprising results.

Other books that get a mention:

Cath and Annie mention “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee, “The Anniversary” by Stephanie Bishop, “The Sun Walks Down” by Fiona McFarlane, “The Tilt” and “Treasure & Dirt” by Chris Hammer, and “Summer Water” by Sarah Moss.

Saar Shahar refers to “An Account of the Voyages….” by John Hawkesworth,

and “An Epistle from Mr. Banks, Voyager, Monster-Hunter, and Amoroso, to Oberea, Queen of Otaheite”, by John Scott.

Both were published in 1773.

Emma has just finished reading “Never” by Ken Follett and her favourite book of all time is “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver.

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This week it's Amy's turn to sit in the Mastermind hot seat and the topic is Popular Romance Studies. Join us for love, sex, happy endings, trauma porn, happy for nows, and all the feels. Does Amy have the answers? Has Alex done his homework? Will Sean write a romance novel? And who is killing all the butterflies? If you ever wanted to know the not-so-secret intellectual life of a romance author, now's your chance! 

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Got any dead books lying around? Manuscripts that didn't work, or didn't sell, or are just dead in the water for reasons you can't quite put your finger on? The Word Docs sure do. Alex is curious to pry into Sean and Amy's literary closets, looking for dusty old relics of the past. There must be something to be learned from books that didn't work? Was it all a waste? Or are dead tomes valuable things? In response to Alex shining a light into their closets, Amy and Sean drag out Alex's juvenilia, discovering the glory that is Jimmy and the Wizard and King Mean Man. By the end of this episode, you'll be grateful for the books that never made it, and you may also be wishing that you were at the Proscenium in the 90s, pretending to be a Goth. 

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“I’ve discovered an important truth and it’s all I care about, all I can depend on,
the only thing that means anything, the one sure thing that will help me survive.
No one can be trusted. I am on my own.” This devastating truth lies at the core of
Shannon Burn’s memoir, “Childhood”.
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Pandora, Jocasta, Aphrodite and Medea; these are just some of the women of
Greek mythology whose stories have grown and warped over the millenia.
Associate Professor Lisa Bennett introduces us to the forensic work of classicist
Natalie Haynes, a writer determined to reveal the true deeds and misdeeds of
these fascinating characters.
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Pop in your pods and let Michaela and Cath take you to another world.

Guests
Shannon Burns, author of “Childhood”
Associate Professor Dr Lisa Bennett on “Pandora’s Jar” by Natalie Haynes

Other books that get a mention:
Lisa Mentions classicist, Emily Wilson, the first woman to publish a translation of
Homer’s “Odyssey” into English

INSTA

@text_publising
@lisahannet
@Picador

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What do you do when the end of the world is nigh? Give into despair? Eat chocolate? Read books? Or, maybe now's a good time to join Alex on a pirate ship outta here? This week the Word Docs discuss climate-change fiction and the challenges of writing about our climate changed world. As an unseasonable hail-storm rages outside, Amy, Alex and Sean travel through deep time, searching the literary landscape for ways to think about the future. What is the role of fiction in all this? Can you be positive and optimistic when things seem so ****ed? And who ate all the chocolate?

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Unthawed from the ice, the Word Docs have returned to the airwaves to explain where the hell they've been, what the hell they've been doing, and who the hell they might be creating next. As lockdowns ease and the world reawakens, tune in to hear the gang discuss the perils of balancing professional commitments as writers, teachers and researchers. Just when you thought it was safe to open your ears, Sean is back to conjure honourable ghosts, Alex is back to bleed teens dry...and both Amy T. Mathews and Amy Barry are back with secrets to tease. 

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