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- The purpose of the Pascall Prize is to
reward a critic or reviewer whose work can help the greatest number
possible number of Australians to experience aspects of their culture
with greater knowledge and perception, can exact a new interest in the
subject and is both imaginative and creative. Inevitably, the first of
these criteria directs the judges' attention to writers and broadcasters
whose work is journalistic and not solely academic.
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- Despite (or perhaps because of) this
limitation, the field from which the judges had to choose was wide and
impressive. In particular, we would like to mention two writers whose
work fulfilled to a high degree the other criteria as well: their work
is imaginative and creative, and it is capable of exciting new interest
in their subject.
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- For several years now, in her columns
for The Australian and elsewhere, Cherry Ripe has been educating the
Australian public about what it eats. Uncommonly among food writers, she
has a point of view that encompasses every aspect of the area; she is
capable of following her subject from the farm or factory through the
restaurant or shop all the way to the alimentary canal.
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- The work of Robert Nelson in Art
Monthly and as art critic for The Age covers a broad range of
art with little pretension and great insight. His is a fresh and
challenging voice.
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- This year, the judges of the Pascall
Prize are unanimous in awarding the prize to Adrian Martin, film
reviewer for The Age and ABC Radio National and writer on popular
culture. Adrian martin's work is characterised by a wide knowledge of
his subject as well as by a generous enthusiasm with which he shares
that knowledge. It is thoroughly informed by critical theory, but Martin
wears his learning lightly and delivers his analysis in a style that
appeals to a wide audience. He has a strong and fresh point of view,
passionately expressed, and often writes with great wit and style. He is
a very worthy winner.
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- 1997 Judges:
- Roger Covell
- Bruce Elder
- Sandra Hall
- Marion Halligan
- John McCallum
- Cyrus Meher-Homji
- Joanna Medelssohn
- Alan Saunders
- Gay Bilson - Convenor
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