Introduction: currents, cross-currents, undercurrents

The similarities in an issue such as this one are often purely serendipitous; JASAL 10 brings together work submitted to a general, non-thematic issue and it should not surprise that the range of material is very diverse. Yet on occasion there are obvious points of contact between the various pieces and that is certainly the case here. The subtitle we have given to this brief Introduction seeks to capture some of the ways in which the essays interrelate, both complementing (and supplementing) each other and complicating particular readings. Essays included here range from critical examinations of well-known works, as is the case with Odette Kelada’s reading of Kate Grenville’s The Secret River, David Fonteyn’s and Kerry Leves’ respective engagement with Randolph Stow’s work, and Michael Farrell’s energetic take on A.B. Banjo Paterson’s ‘Waltzing Matilda,’ to Ian Herbertson’s discussion of lesser known work such as Criena Rohan’s The Delinquents and Mudrooroo’s Wild Cat Falling and Paul Sharrad’s comprehensive survey of Aust Lit.’s expansion into cultural and political spaces broadly defined as ‘Asia’.