Groundwork

A collection of writings from members and associates of Deakin Literary Society

Resignifying "lesbian"

The marginalised develop a twin vision of the world, and their autobiographical accounts can serve as counter narratives to challenge and transform dominant beliefs. As outsiders, lesbians can be used to test assumptions about gender and sexuality. Their experiences can also serve to renegotiate the terms for "woman" and "lesbian". This paper is comprised of nine short stories, accompanied by an exegesis.

Only thin smoke without flame

Hardy's short stories have been relatively neglected by critics. This thesis argues for their reconsideration and proper recognition as essential components of Hardy's achievement. Examines his creation of a fictional "Wessex" with himself as conservator, but suggests that their subversive ideologies touching on modern themes, make him a "proto-modern" writer.

Nhill

Nhill is a short story that gently echoes a sense of anxiety. The very title  suggests emptiness and is a gentle exploration of a middle-class white couple's sense of not belonging to this landscape. Although they travel to the centre of the Little Dessert of western Victoria, it's 'heart of salt', everything in this gorgeous haze of a story of conspires to convey a sense of fragility and unreality.

The world swimmers

Nine short stories that move between Victoria’s Little Desert, Sydney’s Kings Cross, Japan’s Inland Sea, Okinawa and Los Angeles, 19th century Budapest, post-war Berlin… and a fantastical landscape of a far-flung future, this collection is an exciting contribution to international and Australian writing about place.

Element of romanticization : sensory and spatial locations in the narratives of Indian diaspora in Australia

The “element of romanticization” or the constant yearning for ones roots—sensory and spatial locations—has become a phenomenon for different immigrant groups. As it is the politics of sensory and spatial locations that act as one of the core features that join Indian Diaspora across continents. The short stories analysed in this paper attempt to provide an understanding of the variety of interpretations of the sensory and spatial locations. We can note that in most of these stories the immigrants try to bring the Indian subcontinent to Australia with them by using myths, legends, historical facts, etc. These immigrants besides using myths also display a proudest possession, which reminds them constantly of home. These objects or icons or elements from the past, which the immigrants carry with them as cultural products are used as helpers in making a sense out of the alien situation presented before them. The paper concludes with the assertion that Indian-Australian short stories act as an important expression of the Indian way of life in Australia and may also effectively help in removing misconceptions and better understandings of local conditions thus encouraging fellow Australians to see differently within the cultural context of India and Australia.