Martin Edmond Livres

Exploring the imaginative narratives surrounding Australia and New Zealand over five millennia, this volume examines how travelers and writers like Marco Polo and Thomas More shaped Western perceptions of these antipodes. It uncovers the blend of fiction and fact in their tales, revealing the dreams of explorers, map-makers, and charlatans. Additionally, the book provides a deep dive into the Australian character and New Zealand psyche, offering a unique perspective on Western history and its creative interpretations of distant lands.

"Luca Antara" intertwines the memoir of Martin Edmond, an émigré taxi driver in Sydney, with the historical journey of António da Nova, a servant of a Portuguese explorer. As Edmond explores Australia's history through secondhand books, he parallels da Nova's epic trek across northern Australia after being abandoned by his crew.

Blending prose-poetry with visual elements, the book explores themes of memory, place, and meaning through evocative narratives. Readers journey from a Māori cemetery to Japan's snowy mountains and the vibrant streets of Sydney, each setting rich with sensory detail. This exploration elicits a complex emotional response, evoking both melancholy and moments of euphoria as it reflects on the passage of time.

Bus Stops on the Moon is a personal and a cultural history. As memoir, it is a sequel to The Dreaming Land (2015). A troubled and restless young Martin Edmond is on his way to becoming the wiser, older man who will sit down and write both narratives. As cultural history, the book gives us a participant's-eye view of the early years of Alan Brunton and Sally Rodwell's avant-garde theatre troupe Red Mole. Formed in 1974, Red Mole performed Dadaesque cabaret, agit-prop, costume drama, street theatre, circus and puppetry, live music, and became a national sensation. They toured the country with Split Enz and travelled internationally. One of Red Mole's five founding principles was 'to escape programmed behaviour by remaining erratic.' They ticked that one off. In Bus Stops on the Moon Martin Edmond offers, with his customary elegance, a rich and entertaining picture of the high times and low lives of Red Mole.