'Australia?' There was a punishing stress on the second syllable and the tone was one of idle disbelief: 'But why?' This was over seven years ago. I had just been invited to a literary festival in Adelaide; no fee, but they'd pay my Qantas. It seemed to me an Opportunity Not to be Missed. In the week or so before I set off, however, almost everybody I bumped into (including at least one Australian) seemed to think that I'd gone off my head. Nobody, I was told, went to Australia just for the sake of Going to Australia. I must be mad. Or was I 'up to something'?

LRB 6 October 1983 | PDF Download