[[tasmania]]This beautifully presented short-story collection focuses on our island state, Tasmania, as the ‘Deep South’ of the title. The editors have included stories dating from 1869 to the present day, representing local writers and their immense talents, as well as detailing the history of white settlement and the ill-treatment of the indigenous population.

The opening story, ‘Black Crows: An Episode of “Old Van Dieman”’(Alice Werner, 1886), is about a white stockman who acts to protect local Aborigines when he hears of others treating them as ‘game’. This is essentially a ‘bush yarn’ about a different time and place, with a hero who manages to set things right at great personal cost. Renowned writers in this collection also include Marcus Clarke, Carmel Bird, Nicholas Shakespeare and two recent Vogel Award winners, Rohan Wilson and Danielle Wood.

With the 24 stories, the editors have formed a narrative ‘of the way Tasmania perceives itself’. Most are set in rural areas and paint a strong picture of the island as a farming and produce community. I would have liked some more modern interpretations of Tasmania and urban life, but the collection is true to its aim of providing a literary and cultural history.

Co-editor Danielle Wood does have a wonderful contemporary story in the book, portraying a sleep-deprived new mother coming to terms with the changes in her world. Wood manages to merge the contours and endlessness of Tasmania with the mother’s sense of being lost to herself.

Many other works stress the importance of place, family and identity – none better than ‘Death of a Ladies Man’ (James McQueen, 1985), in which a young Aboriginal woman is pregnant with a deceased white man’s baby. Here, we are shown how loss and then new life can begin to overcome barriers between communities and family.

Annie Condon is a writer and convenor of a Readings’ Contemporary Book Club.