Culture

  • Twenty years of poetry and struggle

    Juan Garrido, a dedicated and talented poet and political activist, has released his first collection of poetry in Australia, Twenty Years on the Rollcall of the Marginalised, in celebration of his 20 years of

  • A Hollywood surprise

    Devil's OwnDirected by Alan PakulaWith Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford, Margaret Colin, Treat Williams Review by Sean Healy When I first saw the shorts for this film, I thought, "Oh no, another Hollywood anti-republican film" and was sharpening my pen

  • East Timor's road to peace

    Towards a Peaceful Solution in East TimorBy Jose Ramos HortaProduced by the East Timor Relief AssociationPO Box 23, Fairfield NSW 216567 pp. Review by Jon Lamb This booklet aims to improve awareness of and international support for the peace

  • A non-bullshit look at 'non-bullshit' Marxism

    Analytical Marxism: A CritiqueBy Marcus RobertsVerso, 1996. 268 pp., $39.95 Review by Neville Spencer Probably most Marxists would barely have heard of Analytical Marxism. However, within those academic circles which still maintain some

  • Shedding light on apartheid's dark history

    Every Secret Thing: My Family, My CountryBy Gillian SlovoLittle, Brown & Company, 1997282 pp., $35 (hb) Review by Phil Shannon Gillian Slovo, born the daughter of Communist parents Ruth First and Joe Slovo in 1952 in South Africa, always felt

  • Pulp fiction finds a new enemy

    Op-Center: Acts Of WarBy Tom Clancy and Steve PieczenikHarper Collins. US$13.95 Review by Kani Xulam Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik's newest novel is surging up the best seller lists. It introduces a new set of bad guys to the already prodigious

  • The battle of Richmond Secondary College

    Behind the LinesBy Stephen JollyGlobal Books, 1996. 296 pp. $20 Review by Sean Lennon Shortly after coming to office in Victoria in 1992, the Kennett government announced a range of cuts to public services, which included closing 55 schools. One

  • Words and the power to wound

    MongrelsBy Nick EnrightDirected by Adam CookSydney Theatre CompanyThe Wharf, Sydney Review by Brendan Doyle Yet again we go back to the good old '70s, when there were real issues, real people and real passionate playwrights! Or were there? A

  • Rumble in the Jungle revisited

    When We Were KingsDirected by Leon GastWith Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, Mobutu Sese Seko, James Brown, Miriam Makeba, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, Spike Lee and B.B. KingOpens in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth on April 10,

  • Love from a male perspective

    Love from a male perspective MenlovePerformed by the Didi Koi Dance CompanyTheatreworks, St Kilda, MelbourneUntil April 20$20/$14Bookings 9534 3388 Review by Bronwen Beechey Menlove is about love and relationships from a male viewpoint. Tim

  • Half a century of women's struggles in Australia

    The Meagre Harvest: The Australian Women's Movement 1950s-1990sBy Gisela KaplanAllen and Unwin, 1996. 242 pp., $29.95 Reviewed by Jo Brown The Meagre Harvest surveys the experiences, successes and failures of the Australian women's movement over

  • Williamson's farce hits home

    Third World BluesBy David WilliamsonDirected by David BertholdDrama Theatre, Sydney Opera House Review by Brendan Doyle Williamson wrote the first draft of this play in 1972, he says, "in a white heat of rage about the Vietnam War and the