A Short History of Australian Literature fills a gap in study materials for Indian readers interested in a country that shares a lot of colonial history, many sporting ties, and increasing diasporic connections. Australia is, however, a unique land that has developed its own idioms, cultural mix, and literature. This book introduces the major writers across two centuries, places them in historical contexts of political and social change, and provides a glossary of local usages and a list of reference materials. It blends comprehensive coverage with selective attention to works so readers can ‘get the feel’ of a nation’s creative spirit. A Short History of Australian Literature will be an indispensable companion to anyone interested in Australian studies.
Paul Sharrad is a Senior Fellow in English at the University of Wollongong, New South Wales. Internationally renowned for his research in the field of postcolonial literary study and writing, Sharrad has made significant and sustained contributions to scholarship in this area, with a particular focus on Australian, Indian and Pacific writing.
Over the course of his long and distinguished career as an educator, Paul Sharrad has taught at universities in Australia, Singapore, France and the United States, and has been invited to lecture at several universities in India. He has been at the forefront of developing postcolonial studies in Australia.
Sharrad was a founding editor of the CRNLE Reviews Journal and editor of New Literatures Review. He has acted as a reader for respected international scholarly journals and publishers and a judge for many creative writing prizes. A few publications from among his extensive and authoritative body of work are: Transnational Spaces of India and Australia [co-edited] (2022) Thomas Keneally’s Career and the Literary Machine (2019) Of Indian Origin: Writings from Australia [co-edited] (2018) The Novel in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the South Pacific Since 1950 [co-edited] (2017) Postcolonial Literary History and Indian English Fiction (2008)
Preface Map of Australia Map of New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria Introduction
1. Convicts to Reform 1788–1850 2. Boom and Bust to Federation 1850–1901 3. Commonwealth to Collapse 1901–1930 4. Susso to Soldiers 1930–1950 5. Prosperity to Vietnam 1950–1965 6. Dissent to Dismissal 1965–1975 7. Multicultural to Bicentenary 1975–1988 8. Deregulation to GFC 1988–2008 9. GFC to Covid 2008–2020
Glossary of Australian Terms Useful Resources Comparative Timeline for Australian Literature Index