Embracing the enemy: How the desert has shaped the Australian national identity

摘要

THE VAST, ARID deserts that cloak about 40 per cent of the Australian mainland have been a rich source of inspiration to poets, writers, artists and filmmakers. The desert is imbued with meaning in the Australian popular consciousness. It has been personified as the cruel enemy of colonial explorers but it has also been seen as a sacred, spiritual place. For DH Lawrence it was an apt metaphor for the archetypal Australian who was "like his country, a vast empty desert".