AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'In this award-winning selection of his short fiction, essays and journalism from the last decade, Robert Dessaix offers insights into the many selves at play behind the mask of well-known broadcaster and author of "Night Letters". Traveller, thinker, linguist, and self-confessed dilettante, Dessaix muses in these pieces on an astonishing array of subjects from Orientalism to Aboriginal spirituality, from the art of translation to the nature of creativity, from covetousness to gay fiction, from Albanian tourism to adoption and the suburban family.Underlying these finely nuanced conversations with the reader is a passion for language and for finding ways to write with simplicity about intricate yet vital things–intimacy, mortality, time, love.
'"(and so forth)" was a bestseller when first published in hardback in 1998, and won the Colin Roderick Award for 1999 for the best Australian book of 1998. This paperback edition includes the 8-page colour section.'(Publication summary)
Notes
-
Contents indexed selectively.
Contents
- His Neighbour's Ox, single work short story (p. 7-33)
- The Invitation, single work short story (p. 34-48)
- Ten Times Ten Times Twelvemonth A Meditation, single work short story (p. 49-56)
- A Clear Conscience, single work short story (p. 57-73)
- The Love List, single work prose (p. 79-85)
- The Story of Harold Brodkey's Death, single work prose (p. 93-97)
- Mad Clown on a Tightrope, single work prose (p. 98-102)
- Saying It with Flowers, single work prose (p. 103-112)
- Climbing Helicon, single work criticism (p. 113-120)
- Showing Your Colours, single work prose (p. 121-133)
- Travelling in Hope, single work prose (p. 139-149)
- Tea with Matisse, single work biography (p. 150-166)
- Albania, single work prose (p. 167-173)
- Chatwin, single work prose (p. 174-178)
- Orientalism, single work biography (p. 179-210)
- Bliss and the Armchair Traveller, single work prose (p. 211-219)
- En Travesti: On Travesty, single work prose (p. 227-240)
- Through Pink-Coloured Glasses: A Gay Perspective on Australian Literary History Australian Gay and Lesbian Writing : An Anthology : Introduction, single work criticism (p. 241-271)
- Death to Art : Reflections on AIDS, Art and Susan Sontag, single work criticism (p. 272-293)
- Dandenongs Gothic: On Translation, single work prose (p. 294-307)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Braille.
Works about this Work
-
Homing
2021
single work
prose
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 80 no. 2 2021;'Occasionally I go bush with a friend, and as we walk she will—with little apparent effort—take in the lie of the land. When we break to catch our breath, or to check our ankles for leeches, or to fix an undone shoelace, she will have counted how many creeks we’ve crossed, will have noticed how the steep cliffs and undulating valleys correspond to the contours of our map. With a swivel of her head along the ridgeline, she’ll be able to establish roughly where it is we now are. As though thumbing back through the pages of a just-read chapter, she might trace with her finger the passages we’ve covered: ‘that must be that section of blue gums’ or ‘that’s back where that landslide was’ or ‘here’s when we made a turn for the east’. I, meanwhile, might have noticed globules of blood-red resin weeping from the base of a tree, or have been startled by a black cockatoo winging itself across my path and scoured the ground afterwards for its feathers … but I will mostly be oblivious. The overall shape of the land we’re passing through will remain a blur to me.' (Introduction)
-
Artful Gatherings
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: Eureka Street , March vol. 10 no. 2 2000; (p. 38-40)
— Review of (And So Forth) 1998 selected work short story prose criticism biography -
Paperbacks
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 22 April 2000; (p. 8)
— Review of If the Moon Smiled 2000 single work novel ; (And So Forth) 1998 selected work short story prose criticism biography -
[Review] (And So Forth)
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: Screaming Hyena : E-Journal of Queer Writing and Review , August no. 17/18 1999;
— Review of (And So Forth) 1998 selected work short story prose criticism biography -
[Review] (And So Forth)
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: The Animist , February 1 vol. 4 no. 1999;
— Review of (And So Forth) 1998 selected work short story prose criticism biography
-
[Review] (And So Forth)
1999
single work
review
— Appears in: Screaming Hyena : E-Journal of Queer Writing and Review , August no. 17/18 1999;
— Review of (And So Forth) 1998 selected work short story prose criticism biography -
Paperbacks
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 22 April 2000; (p. 8)
— Review of If the Moon Smiled 2000 single work novel ; (And So Forth) 1998 selected work short story prose criticism biography -
Hunger and Bliss
1998
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 26 September 1998; (p. 6)
— Review of (And So Forth) 1998 selected work short story prose criticism biography -
In Utter Control of His Medium
1998
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 24 October 1998; (p. 22)
— Review of (And So Forth) 1998 selected work short story prose criticism biography -
A Practised Hesitancy
1998
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 31 October-1 November 1998; (p. 15)
— Review of (And So Forth) 1998 selected work short story prose criticism biography -
The Courier-Mail Book of the Year Shortlist
1999
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 2 October 1999; (p. 8) -
Homing
2021
single work
prose
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 80 no. 2 2021;'Occasionally I go bush with a friend, and as we walk she will—with little apparent effort—take in the lie of the land. When we break to catch our breath, or to check our ankles for leeches, or to fix an undone shoelace, she will have counted how many creeks we’ve crossed, will have noticed how the steep cliffs and undulating valleys correspond to the contours of our map. With a swivel of her head along the ridgeline, she’ll be able to establish roughly where it is we now are. As though thumbing back through the pages of a just-read chapter, she might trace with her finger the passages we’ve covered: ‘that must be that section of blue gums’ or ‘that’s back where that landslide was’ or ‘here’s when we made a turn for the east’. I, meanwhile, might have noticed globules of blood-red resin weeping from the base of a tree, or have been startled by a black cockatoo winging itself across my path and scoured the ground afterwards for its feathers … but I will mostly be oblivious. The overall shape of the land we’re passing through will remain a blur to me.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 1998 winner Colin Roderick Award