In the conceptual triumvirate of "language," "literacy" and "literature" that have been central to thinking about English curriculum--indeed, are the overarching organisers for the "Australian Curriculum: English"--that which received possibly the least attention from Garth Boomer was literature. This paper attempts to pull together Boomer's writings on literature, which, with the exceptions considered here, are largely contained in broader essays (often on language or literacy) as sub-sections, brief ideas or seemingly throw-away phrases ripe with implication. This piece will consider Boomer's writings on literature both in his time and in the context of current issues around the teaching of literature. His own themed school-texts of the 70s and 80s will also be examined in the light of these writing.