Beverley Adams Ada Lovelace The World’s First Computer Programmer Pen & Sword History 2023.
This is the second of Beverly Adams’ biographies that I have read. Once again I am impressed with the way in which Adams has assembled her material to advance an enlightening and plausible account of a woman for whom there is a meagre amount of material. The narrative provides a thorough insight into Ada Lovelace’s childhood as the daughter of Lord Byron and his disaffected wife, Arabella Milbanke; her marriage and friendships; and the historical context in which Ada lived, studied and formulated the first computer algorithm. The emphasis on Byron could be considered problematic. However, to find a new way into Byron and his work and troubles through his marriage and daughter is a benefit rather than a shortcoming. At no time does Adams lose sight of her focus on Ada – her parents’ and their response to each other is essential to her story. This is one of genius, sadness and at times, some surprising levity and foolishness. The Ada Lovelace conjured up by Adams gives us a rounded figure that resonates. See Books: Reviews for the complete review.
Covid update Canberra
The ACT has recorded 395 new cases this week and there are 6 active cases in hospital. One person is in ICU. No patient is ventilated. There has been no loss of life this week.
New South Wales state election
Handing out How to Vote cards in the state seat of Monaro – pouring with rain, soggy paper (very often rejected!), diligent polling booth representatives from the two candidates, and people determined to cast their votes. No sausage sizzle at this small booth, but all the accoutrements (dogs, sausages [the democracy sausage as it is known] and cake stalls) at larger ones.
Labor won the election and Steve Whan received 57% of the vote, great wins.
An excellent result – two great representatives in the state and federal seats. And the Prime Minister of course.
I found the red results exciting. However, for many others the results below were far more interesting!
Young Adult Literature
I do not review young adult literature so thought this a worthwhile article to add to this week’s blog.
Teen Librarian Toolbox
Teen Librarian Toolbox (TLT) is a professional development website for teen librarians, created by Karen Jensen and collecting the experience of four MLS librarians and over 50 collective years of library work. Our mission is to help libraries serving teens (and anyone who cares about teens) and to foster a community of professional development and resource sharing by providing quality information, discussions, book reviews and more. We welcome guest posts and our book review policy can be found here. We are available for presentations, seminars, and consulting on a limited basis. Contact us for more information.
Historical Women in Young Adult Literature, a guest post by author Kip Wilson
March 8, 2023 by Karen Jensen, MLS Leave a Comment
This Women’s History Month, I wanted to celebrate some recent young adult books that feature women from history, because that’s my absolute favorite thing to read (and write). I especially wanted to highlight titles that weren’t best sellers or big award winners, because these sorts of books tend to fly under the radar—though the women featured in them certainly did not!
Over on the adult side, both nonfiction and fiction about historical women tend to get all kinds of buzz. A couple of titles among those that I really loved include All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner (a biography about Mildred Harnack, one of the leaders of a resistance group against the Nazis in World War II) and The Paris Bookseller (biographical fiction about the fabulous Sylvia Beach) by Kerri Maher.
But books specifically for the teen audience about women in history can be harder to find, so I’m here to thrust some of my most recent favorites on YA readers. All of these books were published in the last couple of years, and they are all kinds of fabulous, so I hope they’ll end up in more libraries, classrooms, and in the hands of teen readers.
YA Biographies
Some of my favorite young adult biographies highlight women I didn’t know before, and these picks definitely fell into that category for me. I’m so glad I read each of them!
Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner’s Call to Science by Jeannine Atkins is a biography in verse that managed to get a ton of facts and anecdotes about this brilliant scientist on the page while immersing readers in the emotion of Lise’s story. Stories set in Austria and Germany are most definitely my jam, and Lise is a woman I would have loved to share a coffee with.
Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor’s Life by Marilyn Nelson likewise captured my heart with beautiful verses that flow as naturally as Augusta’s artwork—and as a bonus, photographs of her sculptures and many concrete poems are included throughout the book, so it felt like such a visual representation of her life and work. Another fabulous woman from history!
Close up on War: The Story of Pioneering Photojournalist Catherine Leroy in Vietnam by Mary Cronk Farrell was the perfect book for me to read last year while I was putting the finishing touches on One Last Shot, my own verse novel about photojournalist Gerda Taro. I really loved the way Catherine’s hopes and dreams came to life on the page—this kind of characterization really makes historical women resonate with teen readers. All the photographs (both of and by Catherine) and letters really made me feel like I was there.
YA Biographical Fiction
Biographical fiction is arguably less common in YA, but one format that really lends itself to stories about women in history is verse. (In full disclosure, I might be biased, because this is also what I like best to write, but I really enjoyed these titles in this category.)
Beauty Mark: A Verse Novel of Marilyn Monroe by Carole Boston Weatherford did an incredible job of covering Norma Jeane’s full life—a bit rare in YA fiction, which tends to focus on shorter time spans. But if anyone can do this, Carole Boston Weatherford can, and I came away from the book with more of a sense of Norma Jeane, the person—so much more than a movie star.
Ethel’s Song: Ethel Rosenberg’s Life in Poems by Barbara Krasner was particularly fascinating to me because I’d long been curious about the Rosenbergs and what really happened. Ethel’s thoughts and emotions in the poems here really brought her tragic story to life for me.
YA Historical Fiction
Perhaps more common in young adult literature are books that feature imagined young women based on a very real historical backdrop. My own verse novel, The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin, falls under this category, as do several other recent favorites.
Rima’s Rebellion by Margarita Engle is based on documented history of women fighting for suffrage rights in Cuba. Through Rima’s eyes, this history springs to life in beautiful verse that sings.
Nothing Sung and Nothing Spoken by Nita Tyndall is a story of friendship and love between young women battling the oppression of Nazi Germany during World War II in Berlin. Yes, I’m a sucker for books set in Germany, but these girls really captured my heart.
Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee is impeccably researched and beautifully written. Like Stacey’s other YA historicals, it stars a strong young woman facing all kinds of trouble. Valora Luck hooked me from the first page and didn’t let go even as the doomed ship met its end.
Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink is set during the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. The horror of the historical backdrop coupled with the Angel’s absolutely lovely romance with Isaiah really brought this terrifying event to life.
I hope this list has you running to your local bookstore or library! And I hope more people will use Women’s History Month as a great excuse to help these titles reach more readers and get teens interested in the roles women have played throughout history.
Geena Davis and Australian creatives call for action on gender representation and diversity
For filmmaker and journalist Santilla Chingaipe, it’s time for the Australian screen industry to move beyond conversations about gender representation and diversity, and start taking action.
Chingaipe, whose SBS documentary Our African Roots won a MIPCOM Diversify TV Award last year, is passionate about building below-the-line pathways for people from backgrounds that have been historically excluded from the sector.
To this end, she started capability building program Behind the Screens in Victoria five years ago with support from VicScreen and Footscray Community Arts.
“We need more than just writers and producers reflecting modern Australia in our stories; this has to also be reflected across every area of the industry – from development, to production, to post and beyond.
“From the gatekeepers commissioning content, to the critics reviewing projects. The industry has to create tangible pathways for career progression for people from marginalised backgrounds and work towards equity.”
Chingaipe will be one of a number of leading Australian creatives to share the stage with dual Academy Award winner Geena Davis at ACMI’s upcoming conference, Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation.
To be held April 5, the one-day event is presented in partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDI), a world leader in research and advocacy for representation of women on screen, with further support from the US Consulate and Matchbox Pictures.
With a special focus on Australian content, the conference will bring together actors, writers, directors, producers, heads of departments and academics to tackle issues of women’s representation, including body image, ageing and authentic diversity, on screen and off.
Chingaipe is looking forward to hearing from other local creatives like #Matched and Salma’s Season director Kauthar Abdulalim, who she praises for centring diversity and inclusion in her work and on set.
“I’m keen to hear from people that are actively working to change things. It’s an important time to be having these conversations, because as we know, stories can have a profound impact on how we see ourselves,” she says.
Davis will deliver a keynote address on the day and also appear in conversation with Dr Emma Fulu, founder and executive director of The Equality Institute.
Alongside actors Pallavi Sharda and Elaine Crombie, Abdulalim will discuss authentic representation and the diversity of women on Australian screens.
Ageing will be the focus of a session with GDI President and CEO Madeline Di Nonno, with panellists actor and artistic director Rachel Maza OAM, director, writer and producer Sophie Hyde, actor Sigrid Thornton and casting director Anousha Zarkesh. They’ll discuss how ‘older’ is defined on screen and whether current roles for older women accurately reflect contemporary society and experience.
Further, award-winning writer, speaker and appearance activist Carly Findlay OAM will unpack a range of issues with the dominant Australian female screen body: often young, white, able and slim. Panellists will include Australian of the year and body image activist Taryn Brumfitt, filmmaker and disability advocate Amy Marks and performer, model, queer and radical body acceptance advocate and activist Milo Hartill.
Being Seen on Screen is a complementary event to ACMI’s broader Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion exhibition, designed to celebrate women who blazed a trail in the screen industry and fought the system that tried to exploit them.
Highlights include never-before-seen costumes, original sketches, interactive experiences, large-scale projections, and cinematic screenings.
When Bethan Johnson, the curator of Goddess, was conducting research for the exhibition, she was reminded of the GDI; Davis features prominently throughout via Thelma & Louise.
At the time, the public programs team was also in the early stages of planning a talks program that would facilitate meaningful conversations between women across the screen industry. Together, ACMI head of visitor experience Britt Romstad says they realised it was a natural fit to ask GDI, who has delivered real-world change in the industry around representation of gender, to come on board as a presenting partner.
“This is a rich connection that grounds the exhibition in current debate,” Romstad says.
The hope for Being Seen on Screen is to generate “honest and inspiring conversations that point to future action and continued advocacy.”
“The conference will point to what the industry should be doing and how we can keep it accountable,” says Romstad.
Some Black Fire entrees enjoyed by Cindy Lou and friends recently.
As usual, Cindy Lou had the crab stuffed peppers. The other choices were the mushrooms, octopus, arancini balls, and pork belly. The main courses and sides were also delicious, although the steak was not up to its usual standard.
Australia’s most iconic artists on show in Bendigo
Near the entrance of Bendigo Art Gallery art lovers will be greeted by a large, melted Bubble O’Bill stuck to the wall. Photo: Bendigo Tourism
The humble Bubble O’Bill ice-cream has found its way on to the walls of Australia’s art galleries, but not as you might expect.
Near the entrance of Bendigo Art Gallery art lovers will be greeted by a large, melted Bubble O’Bill stuck to the wall. The artwork is a super-sized version of the artwork entitled ‘Melted Bubble’O’ by Melbourne-based artist Kenny Pittock.
It’s a taste of things to come inside with the Australiana: Designing a Nation exhibition.
The works of Australia’s most iconic artists – from Tom Roberts to Vincent Namatjira – are on display in this three-month exhibition that probes the question of Australian identity.
More than 200 diverse items are on show, including photos, fashion, jewellery, moving image and furniture.
Instantly recognisable art works, such as the bright colours of Ken Done paintings and the black and white photos taken by Rennie Ellis, will be sure to transport viewers to different eras in Australia’s history.
One of the most historic pieces is the 1890 painting Shearing the Rams by Tom Roberts. Depicting the shearing of sheep in a timber shed, the painting is also one of Australia’s most well-known and loved artworks.
Then there’s the Blinky jumper by fashion designer Jenny Kee. The oversized knit, created in 1979, was made world-famous when it was worn by Princess Diana in 1982. Sent as a wedding gift to the princess, who was photographed wearing it while pregnant with Prince William.
Art lovers will also enjoy works by Sidney Nolan, Tony Albert, Paul McCann, Hilda Rix Nicholas and fashion label Romance Was Born.
Created in partnership with the NGV, the exhibition is a collection of pieces from both galleries as well as the Australiana Fund, which adorns the walls of the houses of the governor-general and the prime minister.
By showing the vast array of art over the past 200 years, the exhibition aims to examine the changing notions of Australian identity and style. Each work represents a time, a place and a culture, allowing viewers to reflect on how we saw ourselves in the past and how we see ourselves in the present.
Australiana: Designing a Nation can be found at the Bendigo Art Gallery until June 25, 2023.
To celebrate the exhibition, the Bendigo Tourism industry has created a program called ‘Fair Dinkum Bendigo – A Taste of Culture’ with over 60 inspired events, experiences and products’ for people to enjoy while they are here.
Robin's Room 