This image is one of five illustrations Jon Bauer did for the 1908 publication of Helena Nyblom’s Svanhamnen. Bauer was a wonderful Swedish artist and illustrator, best known for his illustrations of folk and fairy tales. His detailed, imaginative and emotionally engaging compositions influenced other artists working on children’s illustration, … Continue reading →
Some people like the way babies and young children grapple with language, working hard to make sense of the collision between the world of experience and the world of their limited vocabularies and grasp of grammar. I also love the unexpected beauty of things people say: overheard at bus stops, … Continue reading →
This morning, it was cool enough – after a weekend of drizzling rain, including a blissful Sunday afternoon by the fire – to break out the oats. There’s something wonderfully satisfying about the first bowl of porridge for the year. The winter veges are planted, the grass has stopped growing … Continue reading →
Lots of people love and adore the new SLQ site, with its wide open architecture and friendly flow-through, open-air spaces full of light and air, but I have to admit that I am a luddite, a retrophile, and it has taken me a while to learn to appreciate its clean, … Continue reading →
I’ve started doing some number crunching on gender in the Australian literary scene, starting with a breakdown of who’s reviewed, who’s reviewing, etc in some key Australian magazines and newspapers. I’ve spent many a Saturday morning griping about the gender bias I perceived in the literary pages, and saying I … Continue reading →
Last night, we went to see John Birmingham do a gig at the Maleny Community Centre. Part of a series of ‘in conversations’ with writers, organised by the local author Steven Lang, supported by Arts Queensland, and run under the title ‘Outspoken’. Birmo is an engaging, funny and relaxed speaker: … Continue reading →
I, like everybody else, have a certain fear of heights and I have to be very careful when I am in the clouds but it is also what I love, it is my domain, so when you love something you don’t have fear. Philippe Petit (1949–) Recently, I completed a … Continue reading →
I just got an email from the delightful Nataša, to let me know that one of my short stories is part of a small collection that have been translated into Serbian! You can access it online at Polja, where my story appears under the author name ‘Nik Berk’, along with … Continue reading →
I adore the Paris Review’s ‘Art of Fiction’ interviews. Long, rambling, instructional, irrelevant, earnest and tragic, befuddling and enlightening. They bring out the best and the worst in their subjects, allowing them the luxury of their own words about their own writing. In the Winter 2010 Issue of Paris Review, … Continue reading →
Last night, I had the pleasure of launching Mark Tredinnick’s book of poetry, Fire Diary, at Avid Reader in West End. It was a beautiful, early summer evening. As usual, Avid Reader was the perfect venue: a real bookshop, filled to bursting with books of all kinds, from poetry to … Continue reading →