Peta Murray is a Lecturer in the School of Media and Communication, and a former Vice-Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow. A writer, dramaturge, researcher and teacher of creative writing, she completed her PhD in 2017. Her practice-led research project, ‘Essayesque dismemoir: w/rites of elder-flowering’, employed variations of the ‘performance essay’ to devise queered and performative nonfiction on themes of the creative life course and the embodied experience of ageing. Peta’s best-known plays are Wallflowering, Salt and The Keys to the Animal Room. In her research she is extending her work on secular ritual and meaningful irrevenerence through the creation and presentation of bespoke and pop-up "w/rites and re/w/rites," sacred and profane, on different themes, including ageing and end-of-life. Her focus is the generation of new forms of queer and collaborative making and creative practice-based methodologies as modes of activism. She is also interested in language-based artistic research, and all things diarological. Supervisors: David Carlin and Francesca Rendle-Short
Salt is a sensual and aromatic mix of spiced words, time and simmering emotions, served in five d... more Salt is a sensual and aromatic mix of spiced words, time and simmering emotions, served in five delicious courses. When Meg the gourmet and Laurel, her glamorous mother and the world's worst cook, find themselves sharing a kitchen, the battle for control is over more than bench space and who gets to lick the bowl. Kitchen lore and kitchen wars are amongst the ingredients in this exquisite exploration of a mother/daughter relationship.
We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar ... more We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar barely there. As a finale to the Massive-Micro Experiment (Markham and Harris in Qualitative Inquiry, 1–13, 2020), collaborating through cabination (Murray in Neologism of the day: Cabination, 2020a) we made a Braided Work in response to Prompt 21. AAA Ra(n)ting is an amputated concordance to that piece. “Compositionality itself is strange—a stranger,” writes Kathleen (Stewart in Handbook of autoethnography, 2013, p. 659). In this assemblage (Murray in Neologism of the day: Essamblage, 2020b) through the disconcordance of a one-letter alphabet and using affordances of typography and prepositional-thinking (Rendle-Short, in New Writing, pp. 1–13, 2020) we write ourselves across and around limits of culture(s). We do this in reply to Holman Jones and Harris’ call to “explod[e] preconceptions about what it means to write-the-self-in-culture while at the same time holding on to the necessity and indeed political power of acknowledging subjectivity and the limits of culture in contemporary research” (2019, p. 7).
Abstract: This study explores the contradictions and ambivalences experienced by a working artist... more Abstract: This study explores the contradictions and ambivalences experienced by a working artist at a time when her age, her gender, and broader cultural shifts are all potential obstacles or liabilities to creative flourishing. It is the product of practice-led research into the creative process from the perspective of the female "late bloomer". In this phrase, I have in mind the mature-aged woman who is, in mid-life, suddenly seized with inspiration and fired with creative energy. At its heart is the question: If an Elizabeth Jolley were in our midst today, would we hear from her? The result is a full-length libretto and accompanying exegetical binoculars in the form of a Preface and an Afterword. The creative work, Things That Fall Over (TTFO) is conceived in two parts: a libretto and oratorio for performance. It begins as a play, but over three acts and into a coda, the work becomes something entirely other - an (anti-) musical. The work grew from a personal interest in the nexus between women, ageing and creative practice, via investigation into the oeuvre of two Australian artists, Elizabeth Jolley, author, first published at age 53, and Rosalie Gascoigne, sculptor, first exhibited at 58. A second strand of the research grew from a fascination for the stage musical, especially in its more alternative modes as in the hands of Stephen Sondheim, or in more provocative manifestations as witnessed in recent Tony Award winners Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon. Contextually, this research is conducted at a time when anecdotal evidence suggests that women’s work in the performing arts and in literature is being pushed to the margins after a late twentieth century Golden Age on page and stage. Using hybrid practice-led methodologies - bricolage, log-keeping - and working within queer and feminist paradigms, this study seeks to counter that push with a new work that is all-female, part-pantomime, part monstrous allegory. In illuminating the creative process of a mature-aged playwright it concludes that hybrid and interstitial forms still offer an inclusive and democratic space in which voices that may otherwise be muted will continue to be heard.
We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar ... more We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar barely there. As a finale to the Massive-Micro Experiment (Markham and Harris in Qualitative Inquiry, 1–13, 2020), collaborating through cabination (Murray in Neologism of the day: Cabination, 2020a) we made a Braided Work in response to Prompt 21. AAA Ra(n)ting is an amputated concordance to that piece. “Compositionality itself is strange—a stranger,” writes Kathleen (Stewart in Handbook of autoethnography, 2013, p. 659). In this assemblage (Murray in Neologism of the day: Essamblage, 2020b) through the disconcordance of a one-letter alphabet and using affordances of typography and prepositional-thinking (Rendle-Short, in New Writing, pp. 1–13, 2020) we write ourselves across and around limits of culture(s). We do this in reply to Holman Jones and Harris’ call to “explod[e] preconceptions about what it means to write-the-self-in-culture while at the same time holding on to the necessity and indeed political power of acknowledging subjectivity and the limits of culture in contemporary research” (2019, p. 7).
We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar ... more We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar barely there. As a finale to the Massive-Micro Experiment (Markham and Harris in Qualitative Inquiry, 1–13, 2020), collaborating through cabination (Murray in Neologism of the day: Cabination, 2020a) we made a Braided Work in response to Prompt 21. AAA Ra(n)ting is an amputated concordance to that piece. “Compositionality itself is strange—a stranger,” writes Kathleen (Stewart in Handbook of autoethnography, 2013, p. 659). In this assemblage (Murray in Neologism of the day: Essamblage, 2020b) through the disconcordance of a one-letter alphabet and using affordances of typography and prepositional-thinking (Rendle-Short, in New Writing, pp. 1–13, 2020) we write ourselves across and around limits of culture(s). We do this in reply to Holman Jones and Harris’ call to “explod[e] preconceptions about what it means to write-the-self-in-culture while at the same time holding on to the necessity and indeed political power of acknowledging subjectivity and the limits of culture in contemporary research” (2019, p. 7).
Part of Rewriting Kinship: The SRB and non/FictionLab have joined forces to commission new essays... more Part of Rewriting Kinship: The SRB and non/FictionLab have joined forces to commission new essays that reimagine kinship beyond its traditional framing. ‘Kin-As-Ethics’ is a companion piece to ‘Kin-As-Ethics, Too!’ by Ames Hawkins.
We have wandered and wondered into the impossibility of imagining what is to be old, following th... more We have wandered and wondered into the impossibility of imagining what is to be old, following threads that have arisen through exchanges of micro-essays, emails, and conversations. NOTE TO THE READER: The following is all that is left of a much longer essay (in fact, the manuscript for an entire book), which one of us—it doesn’t matter who; we take joint responsibility—left in the pocket of a garment that went through the wash and out the other side. We offer it as a warning against forgetfulness and a sincere if threadbare enquiry into how to dress for old age.
In early 2020, as the first of many COVID lockdowns began across Australia, a collective of femin... more In early 2020, as the first of many COVID lockdowns began across Australia, a collective of feminist and queer performance scholars and artists embarked on the research project Staging Australian Women’s Lives: Theatre, Feminism and Socially Engaged Art. Our aim was to document contributions of womxn theatre makers, while conducting a feminist analysis of strategies used to deal with gender inequality and oppression, on stage and off. While pivoting to the digital and the virtual, we recognised a need to support womxn theatre makers whose lives and livelihoods are thrown into further precarity by the pandemic. This paper speaks to our commitment to bringing together critical theory, arts practices and everyday life in ethical forms and encounters that make visible, recognise and express care for one another and for the work.
Salt is a sensual and aromatic mix of spiced words, time and simmering emotions, served in five d... more Salt is a sensual and aromatic mix of spiced words, time and simmering emotions, served in five delicious courses. When Meg the gourmet and Laurel, her glamorous mother and the world's worst cook, find themselves sharing a kitchen, the battle for control is over more than bench space and who gets to lick the bowl. Kitchen lore and kitchen wars are amongst the ingredients in this exquisite exploration of a mother/daughter relationship.
We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar ... more We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar barely there. As a finale to the Massive-Micro Experiment (Markham and Harris in Qualitative Inquiry, 1–13, 2020), collaborating through cabination (Murray in Neologism of the day: Cabination, 2020a) we made a Braided Work in response to Prompt 21. AAA Ra(n)ting is an amputated concordance to that piece. “Compositionality itself is strange—a stranger,” writes Kathleen (Stewart in Handbook of autoethnography, 2013, p. 659). In this assemblage (Murray in Neologism of the day: Essamblage, 2020b) through the disconcordance of a one-letter alphabet and using affordances of typography and prepositional-thinking (Rendle-Short, in New Writing, pp. 1–13, 2020) we write ourselves across and around limits of culture(s). We do this in reply to Holman Jones and Harris’ call to “explod[e] preconceptions about what it means to write-the-self-in-culture while at the same time holding on to the necessity and indeed political power of acknowledging subjectivity and the limits of culture in contemporary research” (2019, p. 7).
Abstract: This study explores the contradictions and ambivalences experienced by a working artist... more Abstract: This study explores the contradictions and ambivalences experienced by a working artist at a time when her age, her gender, and broader cultural shifts are all potential obstacles or liabilities to creative flourishing. It is the product of practice-led research into the creative process from the perspective of the female "late bloomer". In this phrase, I have in mind the mature-aged woman who is, in mid-life, suddenly seized with inspiration and fired with creative energy. At its heart is the question: If an Elizabeth Jolley were in our midst today, would we hear from her? The result is a full-length libretto and accompanying exegetical binoculars in the form of a Preface and an Afterword. The creative work, Things That Fall Over (TTFO) is conceived in two parts: a libretto and oratorio for performance. It begins as a play, but over three acts and into a coda, the work becomes something entirely other - an (anti-) musical. The work grew from a personal interest in the nexus between women, ageing and creative practice, via investigation into the oeuvre of two Australian artists, Elizabeth Jolley, author, first published at age 53, and Rosalie Gascoigne, sculptor, first exhibited at 58. A second strand of the research grew from a fascination for the stage musical, especially in its more alternative modes as in the hands of Stephen Sondheim, or in more provocative manifestations as witnessed in recent Tony Award winners Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon. Contextually, this research is conducted at a time when anecdotal evidence suggests that women’s work in the performing arts and in literature is being pushed to the margins after a late twentieth century Golden Age on page and stage. Using hybrid practice-led methodologies - bricolage, log-keeping - and working within queer and feminist paradigms, this study seeks to counter that push with a new work that is all-female, part-pantomime, part monstrous allegory. In illuminating the creative process of a mature-aged playwright it concludes that hybrid and interstitial forms still offer an inclusive and democratic space in which voices that may otherwise be muted will continue to be heard.
We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar ... more We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar barely there. As a finale to the Massive-Micro Experiment (Markham and Harris in Qualitative Inquiry, 1–13, 2020), collaborating through cabination (Murray in Neologism of the day: Cabination, 2020a) we made a Braided Work in response to Prompt 21. AAA Ra(n)ting is an amputated concordance to that piece. “Compositionality itself is strange—a stranger,” writes Kathleen (Stewart in Handbook of autoethnography, 2013, p. 659). In this assemblage (Murray in Neologism of the day: Essamblage, 2020b) through the disconcordance of a one-letter alphabet and using affordances of typography and prepositional-thinking (Rendle-Short, in New Writing, pp. 1–13, 2020) we write ourselves across and around limits of culture(s). We do this in reply to Holman Jones and Harris’ call to “explod[e] preconceptions about what it means to write-the-self-in-culture while at the same time holding on to the necessity and indeed political power of acknowledging subjectivity and the limits of culture in contemporary research” (2019, p. 7).
We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar ... more We are three scholars from different points of the compass: global north, global south and polar barely there. As a finale to the Massive-Micro Experiment (Markham and Harris in Qualitative Inquiry, 1–13, 2020), collaborating through cabination (Murray in Neologism of the day: Cabination, 2020a) we made a Braided Work in response to Prompt 21. AAA Ra(n)ting is an amputated concordance to that piece. “Compositionality itself is strange—a stranger,” writes Kathleen (Stewart in Handbook of autoethnography, 2013, p. 659). In this assemblage (Murray in Neologism of the day: Essamblage, 2020b) through the disconcordance of a one-letter alphabet and using affordances of typography and prepositional-thinking (Rendle-Short, in New Writing, pp. 1–13, 2020) we write ourselves across and around limits of culture(s). We do this in reply to Holman Jones and Harris’ call to “explod[e] preconceptions about what it means to write-the-self-in-culture while at the same time holding on to the necessity and indeed political power of acknowledging subjectivity and the limits of culture in contemporary research” (2019, p. 7).
Part of Rewriting Kinship: The SRB and non/FictionLab have joined forces to commission new essays... more Part of Rewriting Kinship: The SRB and non/FictionLab have joined forces to commission new essays that reimagine kinship beyond its traditional framing. ‘Kin-As-Ethics’ is a companion piece to ‘Kin-As-Ethics, Too!’ by Ames Hawkins.
We have wandered and wondered into the impossibility of imagining what is to be old, following th... more We have wandered and wondered into the impossibility of imagining what is to be old, following threads that have arisen through exchanges of micro-essays, emails, and conversations. NOTE TO THE READER: The following is all that is left of a much longer essay (in fact, the manuscript for an entire book), which one of us—it doesn’t matter who; we take joint responsibility—left in the pocket of a garment that went through the wash and out the other side. We offer it as a warning against forgetfulness and a sincere if threadbare enquiry into how to dress for old age.
In early 2020, as the first of many COVID lockdowns began across Australia, a collective of femin... more In early 2020, as the first of many COVID lockdowns began across Australia, a collective of feminist and queer performance scholars and artists embarked on the research project Staging Australian Women’s Lives: Theatre, Feminism and Socially Engaged Art. Our aim was to document contributions of womxn theatre makers, while conducting a feminist analysis of strategies used to deal with gender inequality and oppression, on stage and off. While pivoting to the digital and the virtual, we recognised a need to support womxn theatre makers whose lives and livelihoods are thrown into further precarity by the pandemic. This paper speaks to our commitment to bringing together critical theory, arts practices and everyday life in ethical forms and encounters that make visible, recognise and express care for one another and for the work.
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