Literary Journalism in Colonial Australia

This book traces the beginnings of literary (narrative) journalism in Australia. It contributes to evolving international definitions of the form, while providing a glimpse into Australia's early press history and development as a nation. The book comprises two parts. The first examines the forerunners of literary journalism before and during the establishment of a free press, including the letters, diaries and journals of the early colonists, as well as sketches published in the first magazines and newspapers. The book asks if these were reporting when there was no thriving press until well into the 19th century -- many were written by women and convicts whose voices otherwise went unheard. The second part examines the first expressions of literary journalism in forms more recognisable today, covering topics as varied as homelessness in Melbourne, the Queensland trade in Pacific Islander labour, and Australia's involvement in overseas wars, particularly the Boer War. The resulting cultural history reveals important milestones in the development of Australia's press and literature, while demonstrating the concerns unveiled in colonial literary journalism still resonate in Australia in the 21st century.

Includes analysis of letters, diaries and journals of the early colonists, as well as newspaper and magazine stories Challenges international definitions of literary journalism while examining its emergence in Australia's colonial era Covers topics such as Melbourne's homeless, the Pacific Island Labour Trade and the Boer War.

Auteur
Willa McDonald teaches and researches literary journalism and creative non-fiction writing at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. A former journalist, she is co-editor of Palgrave Macmillan's Literary Journalism series.

Contenu
Chapter 1 Writing Reality: Constructing a Nation.- Chapter 2 True Beginnings.- Chapter 3 Journals, Letters and Unexpected Forms.- Chapter 4 Captured Lives: Settler Memoir.- Chapter 5 The Sketch: Colonial Characters.- Chapter 6 Sketches of Place, Landscape and Travel.- Chapter 7 Reporting on City Life: The Highs and Lows of 'Marvellous Melbourne'.- Chapter 8 Literary Journalism and Ned Kelly's 'Last Stand'.- Chapter 9 'Blackbirding', Subjectivity and the Unseeing 'I'.- Chapter 10 Life in the Trenches: The Challenges of Reporting War.- Chapter 11 Boer War Journalism: Irony, Understatement and Sentiment.- Chapter 12 Conclusion.

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