McLaren, John (1995) The dilemma of Australian literature. UNSPECIFIED. (Unpublished)

Abstract

This paper deals with issues presented in Australian writing and the difficulties Australian writers encounter. Australian writers have always felt uncomfortable and in dilemma if they should write for the local audience and about their own experiences or if they should seek to write for the world, losing their own roots. The author discusses the works and novels of such Australian writers who wrote for an audience at “home” in England, the ones staying at home in Australia but writing for the world, and the most recent generation of Australian writers who seem to solve the problem by declaring themselves international and writing without any attempt to relate to specifically Australian experience. On the other hand, migrant workers of this generation have continued to feel the necessity of exploring the conflict between their native traditions and Australian reality. This contrasts with the attitudes of the Aboriginal poets who write for their own people, expressing their anger and defiance at their treatment by white Australia.

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