Australian literature

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Australian literature started shortly after the colonization of the continent by the Europeans . The popular works of the early days mostly belonged to the “ripping yarn” variant, in which stories of daring against the new frontier of the Australian outback were told. Authors such as Rolf Boldrewood , Marcus Clarke and Joseph Furphy embodied these ideals in their stories and v. a. The latter tried to precisely record the colloquial language of the Australians. These writers provide insight into the penal colonies that formed the country and the settlement of Europeans. The transport of prisoners, the emigration to this once so distant land, as well as the persecution and prejudice from which the Aborigines suffered, all contribute to a feeling of alienation and exile that pervades at least early Australian literature.

poetry

The poetry played an important role in the justification of Australian literature. Two poets vying for the title of Australia's greatest poet are Christopher Brennan and Adam Lindsay Gordon . Gordon was not born in Australia, but in the Azores , to Scottish parents. Nevertheless, he is often referred to as "Australian national poet" and he is the only Australian with its own monument in the Poets' Corner of London's Cathedral Westminster Abbey .

Both Gordon's and, in particular, Brennan's work encompass classical-romantic poetry that was strongly influenced by Europe's educational tradition. There was also a competing, lively tradition of folk music and ballads . Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson were the most prominent representatives of such popular ballads, and Banjo was responsible for what is probably the most famous Australian song, Waltzing Matilda .

20th century

In contrast to these early authors, most of Australia's European descent were urban residents. Even Banjo Paterson, who wrote about the typical "swagman" (migrant laborer, tramp), lived as a lawyer in the city. Nevertheless, their romantic views of the outback and its rugged inhabitants clearly contributed to shaping the soul of the Australian nation, much as the “ Wild West ” shaped America's self-image.

Henry Handel Richardson ( pseudonym of Ethel Florence Lindsay Richardson) was not only one of the first Australian women writers, but also the first to write about middle-class urban life. In the 1920s, two of the greatest proponents of Australian literature emerged, Vance and Nettie Palmer . The couple not only marketed their own works (Vance wrote novels and Nettie prose ), but also wrote a literary history of the previous authors.

Doris Pilkington Nugi Garimara was the first Aboriginal woman to address the issue of racial segregation and the re-education of non-“thoroughbred” Australians as a writer .

The prominent Australian poets of the 20th century also included Alec Derwent Hope , Judith Wright , Kenneth Slessor , Gwen Harwood , David Rowbotham , Robert Gray , the multi-award-winning lyric poet Jennifer Maiden (* 1949), William Henry Ogilvie and Kevin Hart .

Australian literature came of age, so to speak, when Patrick White became the first and so far only Australian to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1973 , even though he was born overseas and lived there for a long time. Other notable authors from the post-1970 period include Peter Carey , the two-time Booker Prize winner , and David Malouf .

The poet Les Murray , whose work has been translated into many languages, published his mighty verse epic Freddy Neptune in 1998 , a panorama of the history of Australia in the 20th century and the fate of its German immigrants, for which he was described by JM Coetzee as "the angry genius" . The book was published in 2004 in a congenial German translation.

The German-born Markus Zusak has recently received numerous awards as an author of books for young people .

Immigrants and emigrants

One of the internationally best known Australian novelists , Nevil Shute , was - like many people in a nation created by immigration - not a native of Australia. He settled in Australia after World War II and portrayed global events such as World War II and the impending nuclear war from an Australian perspective. A few years earlier, in the early 20s , David Herbert Lawrence visited Australia and was one of the first foreign writers to describe the country as something more than a penal colony in his novel Kangaroo .

Other authors felt the need to escape the Australian distance. George Lewis Becke (or Louis Becke ) spent part of his life from the age of 16 to the age of 30 on various Pacific islands, where he suffered shipwrecks, ran various businesses and had to close again, watched fishermen at work, adopted local customs and above wrote semi-fictional short stories ( The fisher folk of Nukufetau , The rangers of the Tiakau , Kennedy the boatsteerer ) that brought him close to Joseph Conrad and Robert Louis Stevenson . He also lived in the US for two years, Europe for 15 years and New Zealand for one year.

Germaine Greer , author of The Female Eunuch , has spent much of her career in England and has been a harsh critic of her homeland in the past, but now regularly spends several months of the year in New South Wales . Although Greer is considered a pioneer of feminist literature, Louisa Lawson , mother of the poet Henry Lawson, was a suffragette and editor of The Dawn Journal , a propaganda publication. Along with Nettie Palmer and Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, Louisa Lawson is an important precursor to Greers.

There have been several scandals in the history of Australian literature over the identity of alleged immigrant writers in question. In 1944, the affair of a fictional English-born poet Ern Malley led to obsconity proceedings. In the 1990s, a writer named Helen Darville appeared as Ukraine- born Helen "Demidenko" and won major literary awards for Hand that Signed the Paper until her identity was revealed and a controversy over the content of her novel, which was written by Nazis in the Ukraine acted, triggered.

Other genres and literature

In his collection The Asian Saga , James Clavell deals with an important characteristic of Australian literature: its portrait of the culture of the Far East from the admittedly more eastern, but still western-influenced perspective, as presented by Nevil Shute. Clavell was also a successful screenwriter and, along with other writers such as Thomas Keneally , who won the Booker Prize for the novel Schindler's List , expanded the subjects of Australian literature beyond their own country. Other novelists dealing with international subjects are Gerald Murnane and Brenda Walker . Current science fiction and fantasy authors Greg Egan , Joel Shepherd, and Traci Harding are even further away.

The crime genre is currently thriving in Australia, most clearly through books by Kerry Greenwood , Shane Maloney , Garry Disher , Arthur W. Upfield and Peter Temple .

Australian born businessman Rupert Murdoch is one of the most powerful men in the world of mass media . His influence on Australian literature is evident in the possession of numerous newspapers and the HarperCollins publishing house .

The voice of the Aborigines has recently been represented by the still relatively unknown playwright Jack Davis . Even Sally Morgan's novel My Place is considered breakthrough the literary editor of Aboriginal history.

Another significant milestone is the seven-volume History of Australia by historian Manning Clark , which is considered to be the most authoritative representation of the nation.

The main literary magazines in Australia are Meanjin, Overland, Island, Heat and the Southerly magazines, as well as the annual publications Verandah, Sleepers Almanac and Going Down Swinging .

The most important literary award in the country is the Miles Franklin Award , which is presented annually .

literature

See also

Web links