The Sons of Clovis

The Sons of Clovis is a tour de force. It begins with the Ern Malley affair, establishing previously unrecognised connections between the Australian scene and French Symboliste poetry, before embarking on a fascinating journey through literature, culture, and poetics. David Brooks, novelist, poet and scholar, has created a page-turning literary history with the narrative tension of a thriller. In the mid-1940s, writers James McAuley and Harold Stewart submitted a series of poems to the avant-garde literary magazine, Angry Penguins, under the fictitious name Ern Malley. In a flurry of excitement, the poems were published in a special edition proclaiming the discovery of an important new Australian voice. When the hoax was exposed, it occupied the front page of newspapers around. The flurry died down but the voice continues. For the past twenty years, David Brooks has been on a quest to find the inspiration for the hoax and the secrets of its haunting poetry. His journey has uncovered astounding facts that will overturn all previous assumptions. This is not just an account of the Ern Malley hoax; it is a fascinating study of literary hoaxes and poetry in general. With its playful narrative style, The Sons of Clovis is sure to provoke even more debate in Australian's literary circles.