GUEST POST: Matthew P. Fitzpatrick on An Indigenous South

An Indigenous South: German writers on colonial South Australia, edited by Peter Monteath and Matthew P. Fitzpatrick, shines a light on a forgotten aspect of South Australia’s history.

The book collects the writing of German settlers and visitors to Australia, charting the course of German–Australian encounters from first contacts, through the ruptures and violence of a relentlessly expanding European presence and into the twentieth century.

Co-editor Matthew P. Fitzpatrick presented a fascinating talk on the book at the September meeting of the Friends of the Lutheran Archives. We’re pleased now to be able to share this in-depth explanation of the book with a wider audience.

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BEHIND THE BOOKS: Ben Sando on Bakowski & Bolton

This week, guest reviewer Ben Sando gives his impressions on the combined works of Peter Bakowski and Ken Bolton, including their most recent poetry collections Waldo’s Game and On Luck Street.

Ben Sando is an exhibiting artist based in Adelaide – mostly painting, mostly abstract – but has also worked with manipulated photographic images and made performance and installation work. His critical writing has appeared in various magazines, most notably a review of the Adelaide Biennial in Art Monthly and a major article on the photography of Ian North.

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BEHIND THE BOOKS: The Missing Dream Tetra

‘I was spellbound by this hallucinatory excursion through the uncharted, elusive terrain between unconscious states and wide-awake reality.’ – Robyn Ravlich

Dream Tetras, a collaboration between writer Mike Ladd and artist Cathy Brooks, combines experimental essays by Mike with extraordinary images by Cathy. The essays, which are inspired by snippets of dreams Mike has remembered, embrace randomness and coincidences with waking life. Cathy’s artwork responses are extrapolations of the essays, drawing on her extensive photographic archives and combining drawing, collage, painting and photoshop.

We are pleased now to be sharing a bonus dream tetra, written after the book was published.

Read this bonus content below.

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BEHIND THE BOOKS: Fred Guilhaus on Road Rage

In this edition of Behind the Books, Fred Guilhaus answers all of our burning questions about his new novel, Road Rage.

Close friends cycle to escape the pressures of big city living. A vehicle cuts them down from behind, causing serious injury. Is this road rage, car versus bike? Or is it a copycat terrorist attack?

Road Rage challenges notions of ‘them and us’, right and wrong. In the revelations of each life’s journey, Fred Guilhaus paints a gripping tale of modern life, with remarkable twists and turns.

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BEHIND THE BOOK: Valerie Volk and her search for Anna

In a new series on the Wakefield Press blog, we’ve asked authors to write about the background, inspiration, research and work that goes into writing a book.

This week, Valerie Volk writes about her search for her distant relative Anna Werner, who in 1889 left the German town of Lewin to search for her son in the distant colonies of Australia. This search culminated in Valerie’s novel, In Search of Anna, a story that Valerie describes as a journey book, historical fiction, a study of motherhood, a detective novel, and a romantic tale all rolled into one.

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BEHIND THE BOOK: Anne Black on George Isaacs

Anne Black, George Isaacs and Pendragon

In a new series on the Wakefield Press blog, we’ve asked authors to write about the background, inspiration, research and work that goes into writing a book.

This week features Anne Black, author of Pendragon: The life of George Isaacs, Colonial wordsmith. Anne writes about her first encounter with little-known literary icon George Isaacs, and the death certificate that sparked an obsession and a biography.

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