Book excerpt: Wide-ranging in theme and context, it explores the imaginative effects of his writing. A tribute to Chris on the occasion of this eightieth birthday, in many ways it suggests an alternative cultural history of Australia since the 1950s. Containing biographical and critical pieces, poems (including new work by Chris) and essays that respond to his career Travelling without Gods takes account of the decades in which he has written. It illuminates, celebrates and critiques his work in its various contexts. Travelling without Gods also offers, importantly, a sample of ChrisWallace-Crabbe's unpublished journals, as well as photography that displays both his life and his relationship with the visual arts. The contributors are all established writers and artists who have had important links with Chris.