Literature
The State Library holds a large collection of Western Australian literature, including novels, poetry and plays. The collection ranges from works written in the 19th century up to the modern works of Tim Winton and Elizabeth Jolley. A small selection can be found below and others can be located in the State Library Catalogue.
Cloudstreet / by Tim Winton
Tim Winton's sprawling saga of two rural families fleeing to the city and sharing a large house called Cloudstreet for 20 years.
The Newspaper of Claremont Street : a Novel / by Elizabeth Jolley
Elizabeth Jolley's novel of an old cleaning woman known as "The Newspaper" who dreams of escape from the parasitic demands of both her past and her present.
The Boy in the Bush / by D.H. Lawrence & M.L. Skinner
D.H. Lawrence's (in collaboration with Mollie Skinner - a Western Australian) novel of Jack Grant, expelled from school in England and his subsequent life in Australia from 1882.
Jarrahland Jingles : a Volume of Westralian Verse / by Dryblower
Probably the first major book of poetry published in WA.
Poor Fellow My Country / by Xavier Herbert
Xavier Herbert's (born in WA) novel of Northern Australia in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Haxby's Circus : the Lightest, Brightest, Little Show On Earth / by Katharine Susannah Prichard
Katharine Susannah Prichard's novel of a small family circus, its travels through outback New South Wales and Victoria, and the relationships that both flourish and wither under its big top.
The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie / pictures & words by May Gibbs
May Gibbs' classic children's book of the gumnut babies.
The Man from Mukinupin : a Musical Play in Two Acts / by Dorothy Hewett
Dorothy Hewett's play is a musical celebration of country life in Australia, set in a WA wheat belt town at the time of the Great War.
No Sugar / by Jack Davis
Jack Davis' play of the story of the Millimurra family's stand against government 'protection' in the Australia of the 1930s.
Our Lady of Chernobyl / by Greg Egan ; illustrated by Shaun Tan
Greg Egan, the prolific science fiction author who lives in Perth, brings together four stories never before published in book form in Australia.
Page last updated: Tuesday 23 November 2010