The 'Imagined Sound' of Australian Literature and Music

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Description

This is the first book to formulate the unique methodology of 'imagined sound', a new way to read and listen to literature and music that moves beyond the dominance of the visual,the colonial mode of knowing, controlling and imagining Australian space.

Emphasising sound and listening, this approach draws out and re-examines the key narratives that shape and are shaped by Australian landscapes and histories, stories of first contact, frontier violence, the explorer journey, the convict experience, non-Indigenous belonging, Pacific identity and contemporary Indigenous Dreaming. The 'Imagined Sound' of Australian Literature and Musicoffers a compelling analysis of how these narratives are re-harmonised in key works of literature and music.

Reviews

These essays take us closer to a recognition of the role of sound in the formation of national identity, a far more complex dynamic than simplistic celebrations of, for example, national musics. They reveal the contradictions and fissures in the bland generalisations that have generally underpinned representations of Australian identity.
Bruce Johnson, Professor, University of Technology Sydney, Australia; University of Turku, Finland; and University of Glasgow, UK

"Imagined Sound offers listening as a powerful vehicle through which we can understand the events, people and landscapes we think we know. Listening, Joseph Cummins says, needs to be practised and is always open to improvement. His scholarly approach and diversity of subject choices have resulted in an erudite and persuasive book, one that fosters listening and puts a focus on imagination, something even Albert Einstein considered more important than knowledge. Loretta Bernard, Loudmouth, May 2021"

Author Bio

Joseph Cummins is a scholar based in Melbourne, Australia. He has published widely on Australian post-war literature and music, with a focus on sound and landscape. His recent research also explores literature and family history.