Author Joins
pp. 86-87 · Read in the full issue
Battle
The name of Sydney ai
pologist D’Arcy Ryan is
well-known to local tele: audiences, who from time tc have seen him discuss the lems of Papua-New Guines member of a panel.
HE has made several visits U Guinea, and has spent, ai about two years in the Mendl In October Mr. Ryan tri* hand at writing a book review Sydney weekly Bulletin, a ms which was once a famous ma literary names, but which for' years now has gone in no direc all.
Mr. Ryan reviewed Canniba Human, by Helen McLeod who 10 years in NG where her h Jock McLeod is a Native officer. Mrs. McLeod now li Springwood, NSW, and Jock IV has recently been acting I Officer in Rabaul. PIM re: Cannibals Are Human in C saying it deserved its place » growing shelves of worthwhih Guinea books because it stn blow for the European women Territory and gave a point o: which was typical, and valuab< Mr. Ryan dismissed the boc few sentences. He had noth say at all about what point c it was written from. He w terested only in one or two i of anthropology, and on the s< of such questions as whether girdles were woven or otherw
Mrs. Jock McLeod, housewife-author whi of New Guinea life from a woman of view.
1, apparently, that the book worth anybody buying, as obvious that whatever quali is Mr. Ryan might have for his aological research he had the point of the book because ildn’t see the jungle for the normally would have been the the matter, except that critic underestimated the wrath of thor. Mrs. McLeod was not :o take in silence this ignorant al of her first literary effort, ic turned up at the Bulletin insisted on space for a reply, ot it. Bulletin readers on r 14 enjoyed the spectacle of jologist Ryan being put in his ave as much regard for ac as D’Arcy Ryan, and probably so,” she wrote. “His state lat ‘tiny, trivial slips’ constitute disregard for accuracy’ is an against logic, but it becomes erous when each and every one attempted corrections of what siders my errors is disputable monstrably wrong.” then proceeded to give in which seemed to indicate that yan might not be so know le as he thought instances the following week brought an back in print to defend his d accuracy. her final barbs could well be 1 at other experts besides Mr. >’Arcy Ryan knows more about }uinea than I do,” said this hly annoyed housewife-author, let him write a book of his show his superior knowledge, of trying to ‘show off by try shoot down my book with his d arrows. tralian taxpayers, who spend llion a year on developing New , are entitled to receive infor not only from anthropologists, a from Old Hands, you feel justified in employ professional anthropologist to late my book, and to hold me idicule merely because I write Kperience, and not solely from k theory?”