In this episode, I’m joined by Matthew Sini, Lewis Woolston, Justin Isis, THINGOL, Liam Blackford, and Notes from the periphery. We talk about:
What’s wrong with Australian fiction?
Is wokeness in the literary establishment already a spent force, or does it still have teeth?
Could an independent literary scene — readings, podcasts, Substack — actually usurp the establishment from below?
Why does so much Australian writing read like a policy paper or a school curriculum lesson rather than genuine art?
Is the Jerilderie Letter the closest thing Australia has to a founding literary epic, and who actually wrote it?
Does Australia’s extraordinary natural beauty make its people less likely to cultivate an inner aesthetic life?
Why is Greg Egan almost entirely unknown in his own country?
What does Ned Kelly represent and why can’t mainstream Australian culture metabolize his true myth?
Should Young Adult fiction exist at all, or are we insulting teenagers by not giving them real books?
