| Praise
for "The Moon is Bloodshot"
"In the face of death and indignity, Valerie Kirwan
is an impudent writer with a melancholy wit. The Moon is Bloodshot
is a rich and diverse narrative in which Kirwan skilfully
combines myth, story-telling, erotic escapades and the blackest
of humour. It is also the story of Mirra who leads us and
her lover, Rosa on a merry dance through a world of brutish
sensuous characters until she mysteriously disappears."
Marcus Elliot, The Hornets Nest Literary Group.
"Kirwan...leaves scattered behind her the playful impressions
of a ridiculous and fantastic world." - Andrea Stretton,
Sydney Morning Herald
Reviews of "The Disease of
the Silkworm"
"This novel has an almost Latin-American quality. The
seductive plot is packed with strange dreams and stranger
actions from the everyday world. It is a unique blend of the
mythical and the sordid, the romantic and the sinister. Lais,
in her innocence, is drawn into Angelina's theatre of darkness
with all its seedy tricksters. An artist paints mythic images
on the floor of a palatial room in the brothel where Lais
is a prisoner. Lais attempts to communicate with Thomas Coin,
a would-be hero and likeable loser, through these colourful
images and in doing so, adds a breathless tension to the story.
Thomas dreams and plans her escape but such fantasies lead
him to appalling consequences. "The Disease Of The Silkworm"
is a marvellous invention full of uncomfortable intrigue."
- James L Flemming, Tribeca Review
"The Disease Of The Silkworm" is a work of hypnotic
prose about power, betrayal, slavery and sexual politics -
a bitter warning set against a background of decaying opulence
and filmic images. I believe this will be a cult book."
Jan Crosby, The Hornets Nest Literary Group.
Kirwan's work is "...terrifying, erotic, savage..."
Russell Walsh, Farrago
"There is a sense of doom and abandonment in Kirwan's
novel but only for those characters who allow themselves to
become victims. And midst all this fray and decay, an illumination
beckons in the form of mythic or tarot-like images which give
the reader space to dream - a rare quality in Australian literature."
Kris Hemensley
"The Disease Of The Silkworm" is a fascinating
and disturbing work."
Leigh Hughes - C.U. Review
Reviews of "Lovers & Losers
of the Last Century"
"The four novellas in "Lovers & Losers Of The
Last Century" are linked, among other things, through
a creeping sense of unease. The stories are sad, funny, erotic
and frightening.
The first story - "And Then There Were The Good Nights"
differs from the other three in that it is a breathless, energetic,
partly autobiographical story which deals with some of the
social changes occurring between 1974 to 1994. It is a marvellous
journal which is full of joie-de-vivre, a love of people and
their strangely unique qualities. The narrator, Vivian, speaks
in a terrifyingly authentic voice as she relates the experiences
of a struggling playwright, of romantic entanglements and
sometimes vicious, sometimes amusing conflicts. It is a story
told with warmth and a compulsive restlessness, its elusive
characters always ready to move on to where "the stars
are burning in the firmament" and "the coffee tastes
likes silk".
CHARLES, BEBE & AYSIN of "In The Cold Morning Light"
(the second story) are an obsessive trio playing out sexual
& violent games in a dark mysterious landscape. When Bebe
vanishes and murder is suspected, the games take on a portentous
tone, heightened by the frightening presence of strange prowlers
who circle the house, giving the reader no clue, however,
to the surprise ending of the novella.
"Lovers & Losers Of The Last Century" deals
with the bizarre, the violent, the poignant and disgusting.
It is a work of great strength."
Leigh Hughes - "C.U. Review" 2002.
"Lovers & Losers Of The Last Century" - "FUNNY...INFURIATING..."
"And then there were the good nights" is about a
group of people who are fascinated with themselves...Their
good nights consist of them pulling each other to pieces,
verbally and physically, drunk, drugged and aggressive..."
"The second story is..a taut frightening thriller. At
first it seems extremely traditional-beautiful girls travel
to isolated mansion, slightly deranged gent welcomes them
and perhaps threatens them. One girl goes missing. Of course,
it isn't quite so simple. The terror is much more due to the
ways in which people treat one another, the fears that emotional
need can generate rather than axe-murderers and violent locals.
Much is made of the relationship between the two women, and
the competition between them and the older man for love or
sex."
"The links between the two... (stories)...are the torture
that people seem willing to put themselves through for an
emotional high. Charles from "In The cold Morning Light"
is told that he'll do anything to anyone for a scare. Perhaps
the fright scares him, or perhaps he is complicit in it, for
the reader it is impossible to tell. The text cleverly excludes
the reader from the tight, three-way relationship in the story.
We can see only the outside, we are like the locals peering
in through the windows, fitting the story together from assumptions
and observations. This works quite strongly... adds considerably
to the sense of unease...Frightening, infuriating and sad."
Penelope Davie - Imago, 2001
"Fantasy plays a large part in both life and the theatre
and some people-such as writer Valerie Kirwan-develop it into
an art. Fantasy & game-playing are two recurring themes
in Kirwan's drama, IN THE COLD MORNING LIGHT...The characters
are experts in story-telling and callous gamesmanship."
Part of "the charm of IN THE COLD MORNING LIGHT is in
the lyrical...intriguing stories which the characters tell
one another...IN THE COLD MORNING LIGHT stimulates, intrigues
& entertains."
Paula Carr - Melbourne Report
Valerie Kirwan's "stories are strong, warm and direct.
They marry a sharp edge of detachment with a sensual depth
charge. Her lyrical mind-rambling has wit, elegance and charm.
Her's are certainly the fine and sparkling reflections that
should be available to us on..." (ABC) radio.
David Edwards - The Melbourne Times
From The Age - 25
June 2003
Valerie Kirwan returns to La Mama - By Robin Usher - June
25 2003
Valerie Kirwan was the first Australian woman playwright
to be produced at La Mama, in 1974, as well as becoming the
theatre's first playwright in residence five years later.
She's about to return there after 20 years.
She wrote and directed her first play, Marmalur, and also
acted in it. When it is pointed out that David Williamson
was also writing plays in Carlton about that time, Kirwan
bursts out laughing.
"He's still going strong and so am I," she smiles.
But her biggest difference from Williamson and most other
playwrights is that Kirwan turned her back on the theatre.
"I always had a strong desire to write fiction, so, in
the early '80s, I gave up theatre to concentrate on my novels,"
she says.
The change of direction was successful. Kirwan's novel, The
Will to Fall, was a best-seller for Penguin in 1984. She has
written two other novels and two collections of short stories
and received three literary awards. But her interest in theatre
was revived when she was contacted by an academic from La
Trobe University who wanted to stage one of her plays.
"I'm just thrilled that it happened," she says.
"Fiction writing and the theatre are opposite extremes.
Novels are written in solitude and part of me needs the communication
that theatre people bring."
Her latest play, Michael, is adapted from a novella that
she included in her latest story collection, Lovers and Losers
of the Last Century, which was nominated for the Premier's
literary awards.
It is about a family with a dominating mother as seen through
the eyes of the son's girlfriend, Anna. Kirwan is fascinated
by the ability of an individual to control others.
"It happens in real life all the time," she says.
"Human beings can do anything, but people allow themselves
to become victims."
Michael's cast of nine characters will be crowded on to the
small La Mama stage under the direction of Lloyd Jones. Kirwan
says this will make the claustrophobic atmosphere of the family
home all the more believable.
The play culminates with Anna's loss of Michael, as he creates
a new identity that leaves Anna and his family behind.
Kirwan thinks her new plays are stronger than her earlier
works, which were more abstract and concentrated on emotional
meanings.
"I believe the addition of a strong narrative will make
it more powerful," she says. She is already working on
a play that she plans to direct next year at the bigger Carlton
Courthouse.
"That will tell me more about how my stage writing has
evolved as I get a firmer grasp on my aims," she says.
But Kirwan is not giving up fiction. She says she has about
three novels in different stages of development: one will
be published next year. Themes that begin life in fiction
are further developed in plays and vice versa.
"It helps to resolve things for me," she says.
Michael is at La Mama from June 25 until July 6.
Bookings - ring 9347 6142
Enquiries - ring 9482 7725
This
story was found on "The Age" web site
Pickle to Pie
Glenice Whitting
Ilura Press $26.95
Glenice Whitting's Pickle to Pie was inspired by a box of
German postcards dating back to the 19th century. Having them
translated opened a window onto the German side of her cultural
heritage and provided countless stories. In her novel, the
80-year-old Frederick Fritschenburg lies dying in hospital,
recollecting his long life. Dominating his memory are fragments
of his childhood and his special bond with the grandmother
who raised him after he was abandoned by his mother. It's
a tale that takes in the tumultuous events of the 20th century,
and crafts them into poignant and intimate episodes: being
bullied by schoolboys during the First World War, or finding
a job in a Toorak mansion during the Depression. Whitting's
novel creates a terrific sense of place, one that lies at
the intersection of two cultures and remains quintessentially
Australian. A vivid and moving exploration of the immigrant
experience.
PICK OF THE WEEK - THE AGE SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2007
Barry Dickins, reviewing "A
Break in the Weather" by John Jenkins in Artstreams:
With John Jenkins’ latest verse novel ‘A Break
In The Weather’, I again felt lifted up, buoyed against
an indifferent life of the same old stuff... and read anew
the secret meaning of poetry...
I read this incredible thing aboard a claustrophobic mini
aeroplane from Sydney to Melbourne in an hour flat... I felt
energised and born-again as my heart rocked with gratefulness
at the recognition of each right and charged-up sentence...It
is to do with a seizing of sense, a grabbing of the coral-crusted
knowledge that our planet is dying, not just of global-warming,
but of everything... The old sky itself is writing better
than ever in this work, not with words, but with organisms
rearranging themselves into atomic liaisons of supercharged
cloudbanks riddled with goldbar light. The mood is so high
it would seem to suggest unsustainability, but no, the fabulous
urging of life, powers the paragraphs onward, inviting and
demanding more passion from the mesmerised reader.. as my
eyes devoured the book, I felt as if I had never in my life
before read such a thing of beauty or courage or urgency.You
read these verses in your bath and can never again think of
water without seeing tidal waves or fantastic rolling breakers.
The style is both classical and surreal and even when talking
about the lunacy of the Sydney bushfires the tone is never
preachy.... It has warmth and playfulness in equal measure.
The whole thing is drenched in hope but when the crunch comes,
you need to cry."
Barry Dickins is a poet, humourist, playwright, journalist
and National Living Treasure.
Review of "The First Computer
Mouse" by Graeme Philipson reprinted from "The
Age", 23 October 2001
I do not often write book reviews in this column. Still more
seldom do I write reviews of children's books. In fact, I
have never written one, here or anywhere else. But there is
a first time for everything, and in this case a very good
reason.
The book is an Australian book about an Australian computer.
Australia's first computer, in fact - CSIRAC, which is now
housed at the Museum of Victoria in Melbourne. CSIRAC was
only the third or fourth true computer ever built in the world,
and is the oldest complete computer still in existence anywhere.
Its existence is the inspiration for a wonderful little book
called "The First Computer Mouse".
The book was written by David Demant, the curator of information
technology at the museum. That means his job is to look after
the museum's growing collection of historical computers, but
he is a man of many interests, and he prevailed upon his employers
to let him write a children's book about CSIRAC and its early
days. Not only did the museum let him write the book, it actively
encourage him to do so and has now published it, very attractively
and professionally.
Now, you might think that a children's book on such a subject
would be difficult to write, and boring. That could have been
the case, but David has done such a good job that he has made
it look easy, and made it fun and interesting for his target
audience of five to eight year olds. The book tells the story
of young Lucy, who asks Grandad about the funny little thing
attached to his computer.
"It's called a mouse," says Grandad, who then explains
that when he was a young man (but older than Lucy) he worked
on Australia's very first computer, and back in those days
computers didn't have mice, but you talked to them by feeding
in a long strip of paper tape.
But the tape kept breaking, and one of the most frustrating
part of Grandad's job was repairing the broken tape when programming
the computer. They couldn't work out why the tape kept breaking.
Then, late one night when he was watching the computer hoping
to catch it in the act of breaking the tape, he dozed off.
When he awoke he found that the tape had broken, but that
it had mysteriously repaired itself and the computer was functioning
normally.
When he looked closely, he saw that the tape had been glued
together, and that the glue was still damp. "Suddenly,
out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move. There on
the floor near the computer was a mouse. I walked towards
it. It looked up at me for a moment. I know you won't believe
me, but I swear it smiled at me."
Then the mouse disappeared, and the story of the repaired
paper tape remained a mystery to Grandad and his fellow computer
scientists.
But not to readers of the book. Though never referred to
directly in the text, the illustrations in the book constantly
show a small city of super-intelligent mice living under the
floor of the computer room. They have Internet cafes and mobile
phones and computer games, and they are quietly amused at
the primitive computer being used by the humans above them.
They repair the paper tape and make little comments about
how it will take the humans twenty to thirty years to catch
up with them.
These mice, and the delightful pictures of their subterranean
techno-paradise, are one of the book's most attractive feasures.
It is beautifully illustrated throughout by freelance Melbourne
illustrator Deborah Koolen, who deserves as much praise as
David Demant for making the book such a success and so appealing
to young readers. Deborah did the illustrations initially
by hand, but then used an Apple Mac and Adobe Illustrator
to give them a vaguely techno look very much in keeping with
the theme of the book.
The end result is one of the most attractive children's books
I have seen, and on a subject you would never expect. Lucy
of course says to Grandad that if he worked on the first computer,
and he saw that mouse, then that must have been the first
computer mouse, and that's how computer mice came to be so
called.
The Museum of Victoria is not normally a book publisher,
and does not have the distribution network of a large publishing
house. It is currently working on bookshop distribution, but
in the meantime you can get a copy of "The First Computer
Mouse" directly from the museum by emailing tmarra@museum.vic.gov.au,
or faxing 03 8341 7573. And Deborah Koolen, the very talented
illustrator, is at dkoolen@jeack.com.au.
Its ISBN is 0 7311 8421 1, and it costs $16.45 plus postage
($5.50 in Victoria and $7.15 elsewhere in Australia).
Like I said, children's books aren't really my bag, but this
one is so well done, and so much fun, and highlights Australia's
early efforts in the history of computing so well, that I
couldn't resist writing about it. If you can get a copy, do
so, particularly if there are young children in your life.
Graeme Philipson
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