Literature

Gale Warning

When it comes to describing Patrick Gale’s writing, the obvious analogy is food. It even says on the front cover of his latest collection of compelling short stories that the tales within are delicious. Rightly so – the book itself is called Gentleman’s Relish.

It’s a collection that in true Gale form sees the writer hone his skill with all the precision of a beautifully cooked meal. After all, it contains the ingredients of a perfect banquet. There’s love, desire, a dash of obsession and some darker undertones. Yes, here Gale turns his hand to craft some superb ghost stories. (more…)

Book Review :: When Gay People Get Married

MV Lee Badgett
New York University Press

It all started in Denmark in 1989, when same sex couples could register as partners. Many countries in Europe followed suit and in 2001 The Netherlands allowed same sex couples to marry. In the summer of 2008, three years after their Canadian cousins, thousands of same sex couples in the United States became legally married in California and Massachusetts. While Australians still have to go overseas to get hitched, even New Zealand has allowed civil unions since 2005. MV Lee Badgett compares the European and the US experiences, investigates the social, cultural and legal implications, and asks the big question – does marriage change gay and lesbian relationships? (more…)

The Queer Zine Archive Project

The zine has always aligned itself with queer culture. After all, the underground format of such publications instantly lends itself to a subculture that has long been oppressed and marginalised. And more often than not, the subversive content of such zines suit a genre that – inherently – usurps notions of mainstream publishing. (more…)

New Book Explores Chinese Queer Subcultures

China is such an enigma in the modern world. It’s recent socio-economic shift has seen this great nation open up considerably to the West, yet it still maintains a sense of privacy unlike any other country. And as a result of this globalisation, outsiders are offered greater and greater glimpses into a culture and society so unlike any other. (more…)

Art Shorts #93

THE SEEDS SEWN

Did you happen to catch the recent production of Antigone that appeared in Perth during PIAF? If so, then you’ll already know how fantastic a leading lady Kate Mulvany is. If not, then you have the opportunity to catch her in action when she appears in The Seed, a play which she also wrote. Here the Helpmann Award winner appears in a story about war and family and how sometimes you have to travel to the ends of the earth just to understand where you come from. Add the fact that the costumes are designed by Micka Agosta (think Priscilla, The Boy from Oz and Australia) and it’s all the more reason to witness this little gem. The Seed will appear at The Playhouse Theatre from June 2 to 6. www.bocsticketing.com.au (more…)

Art Shorts #92

FRESHLY BAKED IDEA
Now this is exciting! Melbourne based Tim Brady has launched a 3D gallery which is selling some of the most prolific artists in Australia. The likes of Beastman, Geist, Paul Ikin, Ralf Kempken, Kate Massola, Two One and Bail are some of the artists who appear within the walls of this virtual gallery. You simply navigate using your arrow keys and can click on work to get a detailed view of it. The space even comes complete with red dots if you, or somebody else, decides to buy a work. You can even see how art would look against your own colour schemes or walls. So hot it’s sizzling, this gallery is the way of the future, taking online shopping to a whole new stratosphere. www.freshlybakedgallery.com (more…)

For all the creative kids

That literary lot over at Katherine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre are hosting a series of creative writing workshops for home schooled teens, or teens who are able to take the time off school to attend. The eight week workshop will be headed up by Kathleen Dzubiel and will focus on prose and poetry. The workshops commence on Thursday February 12, are weekly and take place from 10.30am to 12.30pm. All participants’ work will be published as an anthology at the end of the course, with every student receiving a complimentary copy. Interested? Then contact KSP now on 9294 1872! kspf@iinet.net.au

Meanwhile, in Bris-Vegas

Looking for a good excuse to get out of town come August? Then why not consider putting in an application for the Queensland Poetry Festival. No, you don’t have to be a poet to apply. They’re encouraging artists and creative makers from all genres to push boundaries and explore how their work ties in with poetic language, or explores the place poetic language has in contemporary society. This is one of the best language orientated festivals in the country and attracts a wealth of talent from across the nation. Want to participate? Then head online, down load an application form, fill it out and get your applications in by February 27. www.queenslandpoetryfestival.com

Book Review: Strange Museums

Fiona McGregor - University of Western Australia Press ($24.95)

Fiona McGregor has published two novels and a book of short stories. She is also one half of the Sydney-based performance arts duo senVoodoo. The other half is her ex-lover AnA Wojak. McGregor’s writing and performing passions combine with her love of literature, art and history as she writes about senVoodoo’s performances in Poland, where AnA’s family is from. Her very personal journey lets the reader share the pleasure and the pain of Arterial, their very confrontational performance in which the two of them bleed into white shrouds. McGregor states that she pushes herself a little further with every performance, and she takes the readers on the same journey to step outside their comfort zones. In many ways, her narrative takes the reader on a journey through geographically and philosophically alien lands. (more…)

Book Review: Keeping You A Secret

Julie Anne Peters - Megan Tingley Books ($17.99)

Julie Anne Peters writes books for teenagers that really open up their worlds. Luna is a novel about a boy who knows he is really a girl; Far From Xanadu deals with falling in love with someone who doesn’t return your love and Define ‘Normal’ delves into the punk subculture. Her latest book is about a teenage girl discovering her identity her in the final weeks of high school. Well Holland Jaeger doesn’t actually fully discover her identity, but she knows she doesn’t want to go in the direction that her teachers, her mother, her boyfriend and her peers have been pushing her. (more…)