Readings.com.au: Little Books On Big Themes

On Passion: Little Books On Big Themes

A wonderful, ultimately joyous, insight into the creative life of one of our best loved poets.

In On Passion celebrated Australian poet Dorothy Porter delves headfirst into the passions, both literary and earthly. We discover the young Dorothy Porter's 'drug of choice' was none other than romantic love and that 'some of the most deeply passionate experiences of [her] life happened between the covers of a book'.

Written just before she passed away in 2008, On Passion is a wonderful, ultimately joyous, insight into the creative life of one of our best loved poets.

On Beauty

In On Beauty Susan Johnson explores the role of beauty in our lives, and in her life in particular: ‘Sometimes I think my whole life has been one long search for beauty. I am Australian and as such I should be embarrassed to write a line like that, in a land where one must speak of beauty in whispers.’ She writes of where her search has taken her, how ‘beauty enters the body like desire’, and how beauty is nothing less than ‘life's call to order, life's bid to save it from itself’.

MUP’s new series Little Books on Big Themes pairs leading Australian thinkers and cultural figures with some of the big themes in life. Each author’s 10,000-word take on a chosen theme is presented as an eminently collectable hardback.

Susan Johnson is an Australian journalist and novelist, based in London. Her books include the novels Flying Lessons, A Big Life, The Broken Book and Life in Seven Mistakes, and the memoir A Better Woman. Her next novel, My Hundred Lovers, will be published in 2010.

On Humbug

With his trademark eloquence and humour, Robert Dessaix, one of Australia's eminent writers, tackles humbug in the modern world—the tide of mumbo jumbo where words fall short of what they mean and motivations are not always what they appear.

Robert Dessaix is a writer, interviewer, translator and broadcaster. His best-known books, published around the world, are the autobiography A Mother's Disgrace, the novels Night Letters and Corfu, a collection of essays and short stories (and so forth) and the travel memoir Twilight of Love. He has also published translations of works by Chekhov, Dostoyevsky and Turgenev.

On Privilege

Julian Burnside's grandparents lived in a world of handsome cars, elegant tennis parties and coiffed women. As a five year old, he saw privilege before he heard the word or learned its meaning. In this powerful broadside that takes in politicians and infamous legal cases, Julian Burnside asks what is privilege and who has it?

Julian Burnside, QC, is an Australian barrister specialising in commercial litigation who is also deeply involved in human rights work, particularly in relation to refugees. He is president of Liberty Victoria, chair of Melbourne arts venue fortyfivedownstairs and chair of the Mietta Foundation. He has published a children's book, Matilda and the Dragon, and is the author of From Nothing to Zero, a compilation of letters written by asylum-seekers held in Australia's detention camps, Wordwatching, a collection of essays on the uses and abuses of the English language, and Watching Brief: reflections on human rights, law, and justice.

On Doubt

When society seems to demand confidence and certainty, how much courage does it take to admit doubt, especially self-doubt? In this personal essay, one of Australia's most respected journalists argues in favour of a doubtful mind.

Leigh Sales is an author and award-winning journalist who anchors ABC TV’s premier current events program, Lateline. She was the ABC's National Security Correspondent from 2006 to 2008 and the network's Washington Correspondent from 2001 to 2005. In 2005, she won a prestigious Walkley Award for her coverage of the Guantanamo military commissions. She is the author of Detainee 002: the Case of David Hicks (MUP, 2007).

On Resilience

Elisabeth Wynhausen tells the story of an extraordinary inspirational character and reflects on the mysterious quality that is resilience. A humorous, irreverent essay that arrives at contentment and joy.

On Indignation

MUP’s new series Little Books on Big Themes pairs leading Australian thinkers and cultural figures with some of the big themes in life: rage, experience, longing and ecstasy. Each author’s 10,000-word take on a chosen theme is presented as an eminently collectable hardback.

With characteristic wit, Don Watson explores indignation through generations of his family and their Old Testament rages. He asks why wounded pride or a sense of injustice unleashes the furies and whether there is ever virtue in it. Dazzling in its humour and eloquence, Watson turns to George W Bush—the figure who most excites his own indignation.

On Digestion

With her trademark elegance and erudition, Gay Bilson embarks on a lively journey through cooking, recipes and home, considering food developments both digestible and not; on chefs domestic and professional; on the substance of everyday life. An unmissable treat from the bestselling author of Plenty.

On Luck

In her challenging, provocative essay Anne Summers picks apart Australians' cherished belief in luck and being lucky, and suggests that maybe we can do better.

On Obsession

Malcolm Knox contemplates love, Proust, soulmates in fiction, palindromic numbers and bloodlines, among other fixations, and wonders if the obsessive quest marks a retreat from life …

On Longing

Blanche d'Alpuget's intimate and revealing meditation on longing examines the creative tension between writing and love. This moving tribute to her muse will surprise and touch readers.

MUP's new series Little Books on Big Themes pairs leading Australian thinkers and cultural figures with some of the big themes in life: rage, experience, longing and ecstasy. Each author's 10,000-word take on a chosen theme is presented as an eminently collectable hardback.

On Experience

In this beautifully written, eloquent piece, David Malouf explores the connections between writing and the imagination and offers wonderful insights into his own experiences of the writer's life.

On Ecstasy

In this vivid, biographical piece, provocative director Barrie Kosky explores the feelings of intense joy and delight, as well as the power and terror, that is ecstasy.

On Rage

Germaine Greer's passionate and powerfully worded essay about Aboriginal rage is a provocation that will cause heated and intense debate.