A Post-mortem of a Pulped Book: Making Sense of the Missed Opportunities of Deadly Woman Blues

When new books are reviewed, they are normally in circulation and available for purchase. This is not true, however, of "Deadly Woman Blues: Black Women & Australian Music" by Clinton Walker, which was only recently released by NewSouth Publishing in February 2018, yet withdrawn from s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Musicology Australia 2018-01, Vol.40 (1), p.63-72
Main Authors: Corn, Aaron, Langton, Marcia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australian culture
Criticism
Musicians & conductors
Native peoples
Nonfiction
Singers
Walker, Clinton
Women
Writers
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:When new books are reviewed, they are normally in circulation and available for purchase. This is not true, however, of "Deadly Woman Blues: Black Women & Australian Music" by Clinton Walker, which was only recently released by NewSouth Publishing in February 2018, yet withdrawn from sale within weeks due to numerous complaints from the very musicians whose work and achievements it sought to celebrate. Before reaching most bookstore shelves, "Deadly Woman Blues" was resoundingly condemned by several of the most prominent of those musicians via their social media posts, letters to the editor, and new commentaries. Criticized for the lack of consultation and consent sought by Walker from many of the living musicians it discussed, as well as for the many factual errors and historical distortions found within its pages, NewSouth Publishing announced that "Deadly Woman Blues" would be pulped on March 5, 2018, with all corrections to be posted on its website. Walker issued his own apology, citing the book's "errors of fact," that same day. The book had been promoted as a sequel to Walker's earlier book, the highly-successful "Buried Country: The Story of Aboriginal Country Music," which had spawned a tie-in documentary film, two double-CD albums, and a stage show.
ISSN:0814-5857
1949-453X
DOI:10.1080/08145857.2018.1486162