Decline of Australian Literature revisited

Jim Belshaw has posted again today on the “decline” in Australian literature. Note I am keeping the quotation marks, as I still question the concept, which is after all a relative one. He cites in evidence a recent Bulletin article by Peter Pierce, former Professor of Australian Literature at James Cook University. I read that article myself last week, but had not yet commented on it. Jim and I had also had a discussion on the topic on comments here on 11 August.

Peter Pierce writes:

…The number of academic courses in Australian literature has sharply fallen. Less and less of it is taught in schools. The quantity of Australian titles in print (the vital resource for course planning) has shrunk. The number of novels published fell from 60 in 1995 to 32 in 2004. Sales of Australian fiction declined from $123m in 2001 to $73m in 2004. Last year, there were two chairs of Australian literature – only two, and one of them mine – now there is one. Against this parlous background, and in the spirit of regenerating the teaching of our literature in schools and universities, a roundtable, organised by the Literature Board of the Australia Council, was held in Canberra this week.

Questioned by the police…

Yes, this morning as I stood in the courtyard outside Juice and Java, two friendly officers accosted me. You see, we have people living on the street here in Surry Hills, examples of those left out of the “you’ve never had it so good” that we hear about. They carry their homes around in shopping trolleys. The police were moving one of the trolleys and naturally I was watching.

“Excuse me, sir, is this your gear?”

“What?”

“Well, we saw you watching…”

“Nothing much to watch. At least you were different.”

“Oh, I see. Well, we do try to provide entertainment…”

Really should get a hair cut. Mind you I have come to rather like my new long hair. Any hair at my age has to be a bonus, even if at The Mine the other day a colleague suggested I look like Wild Bill Hickock, and (what with the hat) the new Indian newsagent asked me where my kelpie was this morning. I told him it was around the corner with the sheep.

I find too that I have something in common with Kevin Rudd. I too was drunk and moderately disorderly in a rather sleazy bar four years ago, but not in New York. Both Kevin and I have, however, never lost our trousers, as former PM Malcolm Fraser famously did. That was in the US too: a dangerous environment for Aussie politicians it appears. I commented on Kevingate on Journalspace yesterday.

Speaking of police, earlier I saw in Elizabeth Street a police vehicle similar to this:

APEC is getting closer! See also NSW police to get water cannon. Never seen one before.

Another week, partly at The Mine…

…or indirectly at least, thanks to Trial HSC marking, which has begun. And as I write this (it will be timed to appear around 90 minutes from now) I see that The Rabbit and Thomas must have returned from the great drive west. I imagine we’ll be able to read about it before long. I’m looking forward to it.

I was around The Rabbit’s age when I took my own great drive west, but not such a marathon as they have achieved. I got to just beyond Cobar; they went considerably further. Two drivers, of course, would help…

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