Australian Women Writers Gen 4 Week 16-23 Jan. 2022
Let us stick to the definition for Gen 4 that I gave at the end of Gen 3 Week: women who began writing in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. As I have discussed before, those who began writing in the 1960s were not Baby Boomers at all, but rather the new writers we boomers took up as we approached and entered adulthood.
You might think that the theoretical underpinning of AWW Gen 4 is Postmodernism, and that is partly true, though the postmodernist period in Art and Literature is generally dated 1970-2000. Here is one definition
Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourse defined by an attitude of skepticism toward what it describes as the grand narratives and ideologies of modernism, as well as opposition to epistemic certainty and the stability of meaning.
Wiki, 7 Mar 2021
You need to understand that the professor for my course at UCQ, John Fitzsimmons, was rightly critical of my grasp of the tenets of postmodernism and all I can say is that is true too of most authors, who seemed to take to it as a fashion, or waves of fashion – including the author in the work, works about the work being written, adopting Magic Realism from South America – and not as a theoretical underpinning.
For me though, this generation is defined by the wonderful optimism of youth born into post-War prosperity which exploded into the 60s with new fashions, new music, new drugs, the Pill, Women’s Lib, the post-Communist politics of the anti-Vietnam War movement, widely available university educations, the Space race, hippies, and in Australia waves of immigration from Southern Europe which obliterated for ever our ‘white picket fence’ Anglo-centricity. And which ended a couple of decades later with the realities of earning a living, bringing up children, and in the unrestrained selfishness unleashed by the undoing of “Big Government” by Thatcher and Reagan (and Keating and Howard).
Below is a list of all the women of this generation that I could locate and the name and date of their first novel (using a Table block for the first time). As you go through note how few of them are born even as late as 1950. Novelists it seems debut mostly in their thirties and forties.
| Author | First Work | Year |
| Thea Astley (1925-2004) | Girl with a Monkey | 1958 |
| Nancy Cato (1917-2000) | All the Rivers Run | 1958 |
| Pat Flower/Bryson (1914-1977) | Wax Flowers for Gloria (Crime) | 1958 |
| Elizabeth O’Connor (1913-2000) | The Irishman | 1960 |
| Patricia Carlon (1927-2002) | Circle of Fear (Crime) | 1961 |
| Mena Calthorpe (1905-1996) | The Dyehouse | 1961 |
| Nene Gare (1919-1994) | The Fringe Dwellers | 1961 |
| Elizabeth Kata/Katayama (1912-1998) | A Patch of Blue | 1961 |
| Gwen Kelly (1922-2012) | There is no Refuge | 1961 |
| Nancy Phelan (1913-2008) | The River and the Brook | 1962 |
| Jessica Anderson (1916-2010) | An Ordinary Lunacy | 1963 |
| Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920-1993) | We Are Going: Poems | 1964 |
| Suzanne Holly Jones (1945- | Harry’s Child | 1964 |
| Betty Collins ( | The Copper Crucible | 1966 |
| Shirley Hazzard (1931-2016) | The Evening of the Holiday | 1966 |
| Jill Neville (1932-1997) | Fall Girl | 1966 |
| Neilma Gantner/Sidney (1922-2015) | Beyond the Bay | 1966 |
| Sue Rhodes ( | Now You’ll Think I’m Awful (NF) | 1967 |
| Thelma Forshaw/Korting (1923-1995) | An Affair of Clowns | 1967 |
| Diane Cilento (1932-2011) | The Manipulator | 1968 |
| Lynn Foster (1913- | Blow the Wind Southerly | 1969 |
| Germaine Greer (1939- | The Female Eunuch (NF) | 1970 |
| Barbara Vernon (1916-1978) | Bellbird | 1970 |
| Hesba Fay Brinsmead/Hungerford (1922-2003) | Longtime Passing | 1971 |
| Barbara Hanrahan (1939-1991) | The Scent of Eucalyptus | 1973 |
| Barabara Brooks (1947- | Just the Two of Us | 1974 |
| Colleen McCullough (1937-2015) | Tim | 1974 |
| Jill Hellyer (1925-2012) | Not Enough Savages | 1975 |
| Anigone Kefala (1930s- | The First Journey | 1975 |
| Hilde Knorr (1917-2009) | Shoemaker’s Children | 1975 |
| Marilyn Lake (1949- | A Divided Society (NF) | 1975 |
| Anne Summers (1945- | Damned Whores and God’s Police (NF) | 1975 |
| Bobbi Sykes (1943-2010) | Black Power in Australia (NF) | 1975 |
| Lucy Walker (1917-?) | The Runaway Girl (Romance) | 1975 |
| Anne Brooksbank (1943- | Mad Dog Morgan | 1976 |
| Helen Hodgman (1946- | Blue Skies | 1976 |
| Anne Parry (1931- | The Land Behind the World (YA) | 1976 |
| Wendy Scarfe (1933- | The Lotus Throne | 1976 |
| Glen Tomasetti (1929-2003) | Thoroughly Decent People | 1976 |
| Christine Townend (1944- | Travels with Myself | 1976 |
| Carmel Bird (1940- | Dimitra (SS) | 1976 |
| Faith Bandler (1918-2015) (Indig.) | Wacvie | 1977 |
| Helen Garner (1942- | Monkey Grip | 1977 |
| Colleen Klein (1921- | The Heart in the Casket | 1977 |
| Amy Witting (1918-2001) | The Visit | 1977 |
| Lee Cataldi (1942- | Invitation to a Marxist Lesbian Party (P) | 1978 |
| Jennifer Rankin (1941-1979) | Earth Hold | 1978 |
| Gabrielle Carey (1959- | Puberty Blues | 1979 |
| Kathy Lette (1958- | Puberty Blues | 1979 |
| Margaret Jones (1923- | The Confucius Enigma | 1979 |
| Pauline Marrington (1921- | A House Full of Men | 1979 |
| Blanche d’Alpuget (1945- | Monkeys in the Dark | 1980 |
| Robyn Davidson (1950- | Tracks | 1980 |
| Beverley Farmer (1941- | Alone | 1980 |
| Beatrice Faust (1939- | Women, Sex and Pornography (NF) | 1980 |
| Elizabeth Jolley (1923-2007) | Palomino | 1980 |
| Maria Lewitt (1924- | Come Spring | 1980 |
| Gabrielle Lord (1946- | Fortress (Crime) | 1980 |
| Barbara Pepworth (1955- | Early Marks | 1980 |
| Dale Spender (1943- | Man Made Language (NF) | 1980 |
| Natalie Scott (1928- | Wherever we step the land was mined | 1980 |
| Leonie Sperling (1934- | Coins for the Ferryman | 1981 |
| Mary Gage (1940- | Praise the Egg | 1981 |
| Glenda Adams (1939- | Games of the Strong | 1982 |
| Jean Bedford (1946- | Sister Kate | 1982 |
| Janet Turner Hospital (1942- | The Ivory Swing | 1982 |
| Aviva Layton (1933- | Nobody’s Daughter | 1982 |
| Barbara Brooks (1947- | Leaving Queensland | 1983 |
| Sara Dowse (1938- | West Block | 1983 |
| Georgia Savage ( | The Tournament | 1983 |
| Janine Burke (1952- | Speaking | 1984 |
| Dorothy Johnston (1948- | Tunnel Vision | 1984 |
| Valerie Kirwan (1943- | Wandering | 1984 |
| Amanda Lohrey (1947- | The Morality of Gentlemen | 1984 |
| Olga Masters (1919- | Loving Daughters | 1984 |
| Jennifer Rowe/Emily Rodda (1948- | Something Special (Childrens) | 1984 |
| Marion Campbell (1948- | Lines of Flight | 1985 |
| Moya Costello (1952- | Kites in Jakarta | 1985 |
| Stephanie Dowrick (1947- | Running Backwards Over Sand | 1985 |
| Kate Grenville (1950- | Lillian’s Story | 1985 |
| Carol Lansbury (1929-1991) | Ringarra | 1985 |
| Jan McKemmish (1950-2007) | A Gap in the Records (Crime) | 1985 |
| Gail Morgan (1953- | The Promise of Rain | 1985 |
| Anna Murdoch (1944- | In Her Own Image | 1985 |
| Margaret Barbalet (1949- | Blood in the Rain | 1986 |
| Nancy Corbett (1944- | Floating | 1986 |
| Anne Derwent (1941- | Warm Bodies | 1986 |
| Suzanne Falkiner (1952- | Rain in the Distance | 1986 |
| Jennifer Dabbs (1938- | Beyond Redemption | 1987 |
| Marion Halligan (1940- | Self Possession | 1987 |
| Judith Clarke (1943-2020) | The Heroic Life of Al Capsella (YA) | 1988 |
| Jill Dobson (1969- | The Inheritors (YA/SF) | 1988 |
| Nora Dugon ( | Lonely Summers (YA) | 1988 |
| Lolo Houbein (1934- | Walk a Barefoot Road | 1988 |
| Ruby Langford (1934-2011) (Indig.) | Don’t Take Your Love to Town | 1988 |
| Kay Schaffer (1945- | Women and the Bush (NF) | 1988 |
| Renate Yates ( | Rural Pursuits | 1988 |
Hooton & Heseltine, Annals of Australian Literature, 2nd ed. which was my source (mostly), finishes at 1988, so no 1989. One author I deliberately left out, who wrote mostly in this period, was Barbara Jeffris whose first novel came out in 1953 and whose husband bequeathed a valuable annual award in her name for “the best novel written by an Australian author that depicts women and girls in a positive way or otherwise empowers the status of women and girls in society.”
Quite a number of these women are listed as founding members of the Australian Society of Authors, which I found was begun in 1963, born out of an initiative by the Fellowship of Australian Writers in Sydney, which felt that it and other writers organizations were too state-oriented. The ASA administers a number of awards including the Barbara Jeffris Award above.
Reviews, alphabetically by author:
Glenda Adams, Dancing on Coral (ANZ LitLovers)
Jessica Anderson, The Commandant, (Whispering Gums)
Jessica Anderson, One of the Wattle Birds, (Whispering Gums)
Thea Astley, A Kindness Cup, 1974 (wadh) (Lou)
Thea Astley, Hunting the Wild Pineapple, 1979 (Whispering Gums)
Thea Astley, An Item from the Late News, 1990 (Whispering Gums)
Thea Astley, Reaching Tin River, 1990 (wadh)
Thea Astley, Collected Stories, 1997 (wadh)
Thea Astley, Drylands, 1999 (wadh)(Whispering Gums)
Thea Astley page, ANZLitLovers (here)
Karen Lamb, Thea Astley: Inventing her own weather (Whispering Gums)
Jean Bedford, Sister Kate (ANZ LitLovers)
Margaret Barbalet, Blood in the Rain (ANZ LitLovers)(Whispering Gums)
Carmel Bird, The Bluebird Café, 1990 (wadh)
Carmel Bird, Field of Poppies (ANZ LitLovers)
Carmel Bird, Family Skeleton (ANZ LitLovers)
Carmel Bird, Child of the Twilight (ANZ LitLovers)
Mena Calthorpe, The Dyehouse (Whispering Gums)
Patricia Carlon, The Whispering Wall (Jessica White)
Nancy Cato, All the Rivers Run (Whispering Gums)
Moya Costello, Barbara Brooks, Anna Gibbs, Rosslyn Prosser eds, Mud map: Australian Women’s Experimental Writing (ANZ LitLovers)
Sara Dowse, West Block, 1983 (wadh)(Whispering Gums)
Beverley Farmer, This Water: Five Tales (ANZ LitLovers)
Beverley Farmer, A Body of Water (ANZ LitLovers)(ANZ LitLovers)
Nene Gare, The Fringe Dwellers, 1961 (wadh)
Helen Garner, Monkey Grip, 1977, (wadh)
Helen Garner, Honour & Other People’s Children, 1980 (wadh)
Helen Garner, Cosmo Cosmolino, 1992 (wadh-1) (wadh-2)
Helen Garner, The Feel of Steel, 2001 (wadh)
Helen Garner, The Spare Room, 2008 (wadh)(ANZ LitLovers)
Kate Grenville, Sarah Thornhill (ANZ LitLovers)
Kate Grenville, Searching for the Secret River (ANZ LitLovers)
Kate Grenville, The Lieutenant (ANZ LitLovers)
Marion Halligan, Goodbye Sweetheart (ANZ LitLovers)
Marion Halligan, Valley of Grace (ANZ LitLovers)
Marion Halligan, The Hanged Man in the Garden (ANZLL/Karenlee Thompson)
Marion Halligan, Murder on the Apricot Coast (ANZ LitLovers)
Barbara Hanrahan, Where the Queens all Strayed (ANZ LitLovers)
Barbara Hanrahan, A Chelsea Girl (ANZ LitLovers)
Lyn Harwood ed., The Babe is Wise, 1987 (wadh)
Helen Hodgman, The Bad Policeman, (ANZ LitLovers)
Helen Hodgman, Blue Skies, (ANZ LitLovers)
Janet Turner Hospital, Orpheus Lost, 2007 (wadh)(Whispering Gums)(ANZLitLovers)
Janette Turner Hospital, Charades (ANZ LitLovers)
Janette Turner Hospital, Forecast: Turbulence (ANZ LitLovers)
Elizabeth Jolley, The Newspaper of Claremont Street, 1981 (wadh)
Elizabeth Jolley, Milk and Honey, 1984 (wadh)
Elizabeth Jolley, The Georges’ Wife, 1993 (wadh)
Elizabeth Jolley, Lovesong, 1997 (wadh)
Elizabeth Jolley page, ANZLitLovers (here)
Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds, What’s Wrong with Anzac? (ANZ LitLovers)
Ruby Langford Ginibi, Don’t Take Your Love to Town, 1988 (wadh)(ANZ LitLovers)
Amanda Lohrey, The Labyrinth (ANZ LitLovers)
Amanda Lohrey, The Reading Group (ANZ LitLovers)
Amanda Lohrey, A Short History of Richard Kline (ANZ LitLovers)
Amanda Lohrey, Reading Madame Bovary (ANZ LitLovers)
Amanda Lohrey, Vertigo (ANZ LitLovers)
Olga Masters, Loving Daughters (ANZ LitLovers)
Olga Masters, Amy’s Children (ANZ LitLovers)
Olga Masters, Sensational Snippets: The Home Girls (ANZ LitLovers)
Alice Nannup, When the Pelican Laughed, 1992 (wadh)
Dale Spender, Mothers of the Novel, 1986 (wadh)(Buried in Print)
Dale Spender, Writing a New World, 1988 (wadh)
Anne Summers, Damned Whores and God’s Police (ANZ LitLovers)
Amy Witting, The Visit, 1977 (ANZ LitLovers)
Amy Witting, I for Isobel, 1990 (ANZ LitLovers)
Amy Witting, Isobel on the way to the Corner Shop, 1999 (Whispering Gums)
Posts:
The Australian Legend, AWW Gen 4, Postmodern? (here)
The Australian Legend, More Gen 4 Stuff (here)
The Australian Legend, Australian Women Writers Gen 4 (here)
The Australian Legend, Elizabeth Jolley, Tony Hughes-d’Aeth (here)
The Australian Legend, Louisa Lawson v Kaye Schaffer (here)
Whispering Gums, Monday Musings: Reflections of a 1970s feminist (here)
Whispering Gums, Epiphany in Harrower’s The fun of the fair (here)
Whispering Gums, Monday Musings: Jessica Anderson (here)
Whispering Gums, Favourite quotes from Thea Astley’s Coda (here)
Whispering Gums, Thea Astley, The monstrous accent on youth (here)
Whispering Gums, Favourite Writers: 3, Thea Astley (here)
Whispering Gums, Monday Musings: Nancy Cato (here)
HanrahanScarfeBirdGarnerWittingJolleyHospitalDowseJohnstonGrenvilleBarbaletHalligan
The Australian Legend 
Is there a page for last year’s Gen 4? I thought there was?
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Last Jan was Gen 3 Part II, Is there something you specifically wish to find?
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No, just my AWOL brain Bill!
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oops, confused! We did Gen 3 in two parts … I was thinking last year was gen 4 part 1!! Mea culpa
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At last I recognise some names and have even read two of the authors: Germaine Greer and Elizabeth Jolley (though not the one you list here). There is hope for me yet!
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I’m sure you do better at Australian than we do at Welsh.
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Inspired by Sue at WG, I’ve dug out a review of a novel by Janet Turner Hospital from the archive. See https://anzlitlovers.com/2022/01/16/orpheus-lost-by-janet-turner-hospital/
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Here’s Margaret Barbalet’s debut novel, Blood in the Rain https://anzlitlovers.com/2022/01/18/blood-in-the-rain-by-margaret-barbalet/
BTW Do you want my reviews of books you’ve already reviewed? (E.g. The Fringe Dwellers.)
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Thanks Lisa. I was thinking about old reviews – I’ll link to your pages and if you just tell me what other authors to look for I’ll find and link those reviews to the Gen 4 page (in a couple of days when I get home)
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I’ll find them and send you an email…
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Do you want old reviews for these authors? I have quite a few too. I was wondering, as you could get overwhelmed.
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Maybe, but I should add them, just let me know if you have any obscure reviews I mightn’t search for. I’m already thinking about Gen 5, probably 1990 to now (or maybe 2019), but I can’t list all the reviews – I’ll have to come up with a system
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Hey Bill, you’d better check your spam folder, there are so many URLs in the email I’ve sent you, it’s probably sent your spam detector into conniptions….
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Good thought, but no it came straight in to my Inbox.
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My initial thoughts on Shirley Hazzard – https://bronasbooks.com/2022/01/19/collected-stories-shirley-hazzard-awwshortstories/
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More: https://anzlitlovers.com/2022/01/20/the-penguin-best-australian-short-stories-edited-by-mary-lord/
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My last contribution for the week and a reminder that Wendy Scarfe needs to be included in Gen4: https://anzlitlovers.com/2022/01/23/one-bright-morning-by-wendy-scarfe/
Cheers, Lisa
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First novel The Lotus Throne (1976) doesn’t appear in the annals, not for ’75, ’76 or ’77, and likewise Neither Here nor There (1984). The publishers are clearly local so I’m not sure why that happened. But I’m happy to make amends.
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Maybe just not on the radar of Hooten and Heseltine?
I remember Ruth Park was omitted from the PEN Macquarie Anthology…
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I’m not a fan of Park, but I still wouldn’t have made that particular call. And H&H is pointless if it is not comprehensive.
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I hear you, but it’s probably impossible to know about every author, especially if published by a small indie outfit.
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