Jill Ker Conway
The subtitle of The Road from Coorain (1989), Recollections of a Harsh and Beautiful Journey into Adulthood really does begin to tell the story of what the reader will find. But the book goes deeper than that, in its tragedies, its family tales, its politics, and its clear depiction of Australian life in the mid-twentieth century. (SEE ALSO the movie of the same name.)
More by Jill Ker Conway
Felipe the Flamingo. illus. by Lokken Millis. 2006. [A picture book]
Overnight Float. 2000. [a mystery novel written with Elizabeth Kennan, under the pseudonym of Clare Munnings]
A Woman’s Education: The Road from Coorain Leads to Smith College. 2001. [memoir]
Earth, Air, Fire, Water: Humanistic Studies of the Environment. 1999.
In Her Own Words: Women’s Memoirs from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. 1999. [Ed. and with an introduction by Jill Ker Conway]
When Memory Speaks: Reflections on Autobiography. 1998.
True North: A Memoir. 1994. [memoir]
The Politics of Women’s Education: Perspectives from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. 1993. [Ed. by Jill Ker Conway and Susan C. Bourque]
Written by Herself: An Anthology. v. 1 Autobiographies of American Women. v. 2 Women’s Memoirs from Britain, Africa, Asia, and the United States. 1992-1996.
Utopian Dream or Dystopian Nightmare?: Nineteenth-century Feminist Ideas about Equality. 1987.
Learning about Women: Gender, Politics and Power. 1987. [Ed. by Jill K. Conway, Susan C. Bourque, and Joan W. Scott]
The First Generation of American Women Graduates. 1987.
The Female Experience in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-century America: A Guide to the History of American Women. 1982. [with the assistance of Linda Kealey, Janet E. Schulte]
Merchants and Merinos. 1960.
About Jill Ker Conway
The Borzoi Reader
Brown, Mary Daniels. Notes in the Margin [discussion of When Memory Speaks] September 24, 1998.
Eisenmann, Linda, “One Woman’s Education; Jill Ker Conway’s Smith College Years,” Harvard Magazine, May-June, 2002.
“Jill Ker Conway, Five-College Chair,” Hampshire College, June 4, 2007.
“Professor Jill Ker Conway Receives Honorary Doctor of Letters from University,” The University of Sydney, May 12, 2006.
Rose, Maryann, “Jill Ker Conway,” Emory University, Fall, 1997.
Interviews
Gergen, David, “Reflections on Autobiography,” The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, June 1, 1998.
Welch, Dave. Powells.com Author Interviews. November 16, 2001.
Discussion Guides for The Road from Coorain
“1995 Book Discussions,” Morton Grove Public Library’s Webrary Reader’s Corner
“Book Discussion Kit,” Manitowoc Public Library
Reading Group Center (Vintage Books)
“Reading Programs: Let’s Talk About It! – Themes and Books – Across Cultures and Continents” Idaho Commission for Libraries
Reviews of The Road from Coorain
Klinkenborg, Verlyn, “The Call of the Wind and the Kookaburra,” New York Times, May 7, 1989.
Madsen, Sandra, “’The Road from Coorain’: A Journey of Power,” ERICWebPortal
History and Perspective
As she was growing up, Conway became very aware of Australia’s place in a global setting. A student during the Second World War, she saw what the West expected of Australia, and knew that Australia couldn’t expect anything from the West should Australia be invaded. She saw colonialism for what it was, and while she became nationalistic, not everyone around her did. Conway also awakened to the plight of the Aborigines, recognizing her own role in ignoring their history and their rights.
Ferguson, Niall. Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power. 2003.
Gaddis, John Lewis. The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past. 2002.
Lindqvist, Sven, Sarah Death trans. Terra Nullius: A Journey through No One’s Land. 2007.
Terrill, Ross. The Australians. 1987.
Welsh, Frank. Australia: A New History of the Great Southern Land. 2004.
Rural vs. Urban
Jill felt that at 11 her childhood ended when her family moved away from Coorain to the city. Her father had died, and nature had conspired against the family in trying to succeed with their farm. Now Jill would be living in a totally new landscape—culturally, geographically, emotionally, academically. She left the sheep-herding, harsh world of the Outback, for the more urbane, gentrified world of the city. She felt like a misfit. The titles listed below delve into various aspects of this part of her life (although not all are set in Australia): the Aborigines, the influence of weather on life in the country, the difficulties in moving from one environment to another, the sheep-herding life in the Outback.
Alison, Jane. Natives and Exotics. 2005. [Fiction]
Diawara, Manthia. We Won’t Budge: A Malaria Memoir. 2003.
Gasteen, Jim. Under the Mulga: A Bush Memoir. 2005.
Ross, Sinclair. As for Me and My House. 1941. [Fiction]
Voight, Anna and Nevill Drury. Wisdom from the Earth: The Living Legacy of the Aboriginal Dreamtime. 1998.
Women’s Roles
Jill had learned from her mother how discriminating society could be against women, but she experienced it first-hand as she was growing up, and particularly once she reached university. She did not feel she had any obligation to follow society’s norms for women, nor did she, as she eventually became the first woman president of Smith College.
Crawford, Patricia and Philippa C. Maddern, eds. Women as Australian Citizens: Underlying Histories. 2001.
Erickson, Carolly. The Girl from Botany Bay. 2005.
Hawthorne, Susan, and Renate Klein. Australia for Women: Travel and Culture. 1994.
Shute, Nevil. A Town Like Alice. 1950. [Fiction]
Tiffany, Carrie. Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living: A Novel. 2005. [Fiction]
Turner, Mary. The Women’s Century: A Celebration of Changing Roles, 1900-2000. 2003.
The Joy of Learning
Jill loved being in school, spending her time reading and learning, and in fact, she has spent her life in academia. She felt that education was incredibly important for all, but particularly for women. For titles here one could have chosen Conway's own books, but there are others to fit the bill.
Cahill, Thomas. Mysteries of the Middle Ages: The Rise of Feminism, Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe. 2006.
Comini, Alessandra. In Passionate Pursuit. 2004.
Davis, Sara N., Mary Crawford, Jadwiga Sebrechts, eds. Coming into Her Own: Educational Success in Girls and Women. 1999.
Fraser, Arvonne S. and Irene Tinker. Developing Power: How Women Transformed International Development. 2004.
Hayre, Ruth Wright and Alexis Moore. Tell Them We Are Rising: A Memoir of Faith in Education. 1997.
Krasne, Betty. A Dangerous Thing: A Memoir of Learning and Teaching. 2006.
Maathai, Wangari Muta. Unbowed: A Memoir. 2006.
[Walker, Shirley, and Gemma Walsh. Roundabout at Bangalow: An Intimate Chronicle. 2001. This final title is not readily available in most Canadian libraries, but it is available for purchase, and seemed perfect for this category, so I’m listing it here.]
(Created with the help of the Oxford County Workshop participants. All Web sites accessed July, 2007.
Maureen O’Connor, WordsWorthy/Connecting Books and Readers/maureen@wordsworthy.com
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