David Malouf enjoys a distinguished reputation, nationally and internationally, as a writer whose lyrical mappings of identity, place, and the body also bear upon questions of belonging and national identity. Crossing successfully from poetry to prose fiction in 1975, Malouf has continued to write in a wide variety of forms and genres. He is author, to date, of at least six volumes of poetry, several editions of selected poems, six novels, two novellas, three short-story collections, many autobiographical and prose nonfiction publications, a series of libretti for opera, and an original play. While this range demonstrates unusual versatility, Malouf's writing also exhibits remarkable consistency in approach, preoccupation, and style. On the shortlist for the Booker Prize in 1993 for Remembering Babylon (1993), Malouf has been the recipient of many prestigious awards for fiction, poetry, and drama. These include the 1974 Australian Literature Society Gold Medal and the 1974 Grace Leven Poetry Prize, for...