David Malouf

by Ivor Indyk

David Malouf is one of Australia's most popular novelists, and also one of its most elusive. Drawing on the whole range of his work, Indyk presents Malouf as both a primitive and a romantic--a writer who turns to the natural world for the expression of desires which are proscribed or not
recognized in the social realm. Indyk's study takes the form of a long essay or meditation, which explores the hidden logic of Malouf's art--as fiction, poetry, essay, drama, libretto--revealing an underlying technique which works through emblem and analogy, releasing energies that might be
inhibited by more direct forms of expression. This emblematic technique allows Malouf to probe the dark sides of desire, its relationship to violence, savagery, and even death, while on the other hand, it underwrites his moments of poetic illumination, as he strives toward a visionary apprehension
of unity and belonging.

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Ivor Indyk is an Australian literary academic, editor, and publisher, best known as the founding editor of HEAT magazine and Giramondo Publishing, both influential in the Australian literary landscape. A professor at the University of Western Sydney, he has taught at several universities, including Geneva, Sydney, and Newcastle. He has written extensively on literature, including a monograph on David Malouf, and previously co-edited the literary journal Southerly. Born to Polish Jewish parents and raised in Sydney, he is the brother of diplomat Martin Indyk and has been married to writer Evelyn Juers since 1978.