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Editor's note
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It has been a great year for good writing at The Conversation. Our Friday essays have explored topics as varied as the end of a friendship, the life of the ethical vegan, living with the threat of bushfire and how Simone Biles transformed gymnastics with her athleticism and advocacy.
From Michelle Grattan’s insightful analysis of Scott Morrison the man, to Mitch Goodwin’s evocative exploration of the song Space Oddity at 50 our writers have probed, pondered and we hope, provoked
joy.
Here, then, is our selection of the standout writing of 2019.
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Suzy Freeman-Greene
Section Editor: Arts + Culture
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Friday Essays
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Shutterstock
Kevin John Brophy, University of Melbourne
A 40-year friendship ends badly and publicly, leading to a forensic examination of what it means to have and be a friend.
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Simone Biles is the greatest gymnast the world has ever seen – but she is also unlike any other athlete the sport has known.
Noushad Thekkayil/EPA
Ella Donald, The University of Queensland
Simone Biles enters the 2019 World Gymnastics Championships already with the most all-around gold medals ever. The greatest of all time, she has changed the sport forever.
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The author in his vegetable patch.
Wendy Kinsella
John Kinsella, Curtin University
For poet John Kinsella, veganism is an ethics of commitment. Living as a vegan, he writes, is not a holier-than-thou situation, but a move towards being more respectful of life.
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Hidden Women
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Camilla Nelson, University of Notre Dame Australia
Miss Fury was the first female superhero written and drawn by a woman. The comic in which she featured was syndicated in 100 newspapers but her creator has largely been excluded from the pantheon of comic greats.
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Peter McPhee, University of Melbourne
This frail and often hated woman became a passionate advocate of a woman's place in a democratic society before a tragic episode broke her.
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From Michelle Grattan
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It’s possible to overthink Morrison. A long-time associate and friend says “what you see is what you get”.
AAP/Dean Lewins
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
If someone asked the “real Scott Morrison to please stand up”, two men might rise to their feet. The uncompromising, don't-give-an-inch hard Scott, and a more conciliatory, flexible character.
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Some of our favourites
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Darius Sepehri, University of Sydney
There is so much more to Iran than politics. Its traditional music carries messages of beauty, joy, sorrow and love to the world.
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Elizabeth Reid Boyd, Edith Cowan University
The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley believed that we can exercise our moral imagination 'in the same manner as exercise strengthens a limb'. Here, then, are some tips for fostering empathy through art.
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Danielle Clode, Flinders University
Living in a bushfire-prone area means every decision - from plants to parking spots to holidays - is shaped by fire risk. We live and die by the advice we are given, and the advice we ignore.
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Mitch Goodwin, University of Melbourne
Fifty years ago, on July 11, 1969, David Bowie released Space Oddity. With its adventurous orchestration, unsettling harmonics and melancholy narrative, the now classic song captured a moment.
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Featured jobs
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Featured events
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Kolling Institute of Medical Research, Kolling Auditorium, Level 5, Building 6, Royal North Shore Hospital, 10 Westbourne Street , St Leonards, New South Wales, 2064, Australia — University of Sydney
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