December 2018, issue no. 407

The Calibre Essay Prize is open!

We welcome essays of all kinds

The Origins of Dislike by Amit Chaudhuri

Reviewed by Robert Dessaix

Les Murray as one-off fluke

Peter Goldsworthy lauds the Collected Poems of Les Murray.

Burning Planet by Andrew C. Scott

Reviewed by Billy Griffiths

Books of the Year

34 critics and authors nominate their favourite books of 2018.

A tribute to Dorothy Porter

Andrea Goldsmith’s tribute to her late partner Dorothy Porter.

Germaine Greer and Anne Summers

Zora Simic reviews new works on two pivotal Australian feminists.

David Marr's My Country

Glyn Davis on David Marr’s new collection of a life's writing.

Welcome to the December issue of ABR!
Highlights include:

Books of the Year
34 critics and authors, including Michelle de Kretser, Fiona Wright, Beejay Silcox, Gregory Day, and Gideon Haigh, nominate their favourite books of 2018.

Review of the Month
Glyn Davis on David Marr’s new collection of speeches, essays,
and stories, My Country.

Les Murray as maverick angel
Peter Goldsworthy lauds the Collected Poems of Les Murray.

Germaine Greer and Anne Summers
Zora Simic on a Germaine Greer biography by Elizabeth Kleinhenz and Anne Summers’ new memoir Unfettered and Alive.

The ARC controversy
Professor Joy Damousi on the controversial vetoing of eleven ARC grants, and brief statements from a further thirteen academics.

David Malouf's new poetry
Judith Bishop on David Malouf’s new collection, An Open Book.

A tribute to Dorothy Porter
Andrea Goldsmith’s moving tribute to her late partner and
Australian poet Dorothy Porter.

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'Cyndi Lauper', a new poem by Michael Hofmann

Michael Hofmann

June 22

And many happy returns of the day to Cyndi Lauper, 65,
once said to ‘dress funny’ and her voice likened to ‘rat’ (or ‘rat’s’),

Free

Peter Tregear reviews 'National Identity in Contemporary Australian Opera' by Michael Halliwell

Peter Tregear

Just as we are unlikely today to think of South Wales when in New South Wales, nor does the existence of the Sydney Opera House does not of itself draw our collective attention towards opera. It is a structure more to More

Rémy Davison reviews 'Crashed' by Adam Tooze

Rémy Davidson

In 1996 the pre-eminent political economist Susan Strange published her final book, The Retreat of the State. Strange had dedicated most of her career to studying the ability of t More

Paul Humphries reviews 'The Best Australian Science Writing 2018' edited by John Pickrell

Paul Humphries

I first encountered Stephen Jay Gould when I happened on one of his books in a bookshop during my late teens. Its unusual title, The Panda’s Thumb, caught my eye. The lead artic More