Yesterday (9 August) was, as you probably know, the UN's International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. I had planned to get this post completed by then, but, being on the road (again), it didn't happen. I don't think that matters a lot, though, as we should be caring about Indigenous Peoples every day until the … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival and the Griffith Review 60: First things first
First Nations Australians
Marie Munkara, Of ashes and rivers that run to the sea (#BookReview)
The stories keep on coming, the stories, I mean, of indigenous children stolen from their families and what happened to them afterwards. I've posted on Carmel Bird's compilation of stories from the Bringing them home report, The stolen children: Their stories, and also on Ali Cobby Eckermann's memoir Too afraid to cry. Now it's Marie Munkara's … Continue reading Marie Munkara, Of ashes and rivers that run to the sea (#BookReview)
Delicious descriptions: Marie Munkara on cars
I don't usually post Delicious Descriptions before I review a book but this one seems apposite. Yesterday, we did a tour of the Tiwi Islands - of Bathurst Island in particular. This is where Marie Munkara's memoir Of ashes and rivers that run to the sea, which I mentioned in my last Monday Musings, is … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: Marie Munkara on cars
Monday musings on Australian literature: about Arnhem Land
When this post goes live (during NAIDOC Week) I will be in Australia's Top End, touring a region called Arnhem Land - and will most likely be incommunicado. Located in the north-east of the Northern Territory, it is named after the ship captained by Dutchman William van Colster who visited the area in 1623. The … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: about Arnhem Land
My literary week (12), some art, a film, and an unseen play
Much as I'd like to, I don't have time to write full posts on the three "events" I'm writing about today, but I do want to at least document them. I don't, in fact, document every film, show or exhibition I attend but I have particular reasons, which will hopefully become obvious, for wanting to … Continue reading My literary week (12), some art, a film, and an unseen play
Monday musings on Australian literature: Reconciliation Day in Canberra
Today, 28 May 2018, we in Canberra celebrated our inaugural Reconciliation Day Public Holiday. We are the first jurisdiction in Australia to have such a public holiday*. From this year, this day will be held on the first Monday after 27 May or on the 27th if it is a Monday - the 27th being … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Reconciliation Day in Canberra
John Lang, The forger’s wife (#BookReview)
When new publisher Grattan Street Press offered me a review copy of John Lang's The forger's wife last November, I couldn't resist, even though it is from their Colonial Australian Popular Fiction series. I say "even though" because, had it been written now, it would probably not have come under my radar. It's very much … Continue reading John Lang, The forger’s wife (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Jane Austen and the Stolen Generations
Yes, you read right, this very brief Monday Musings post is about what Jane Austen might have said - did say in her way - about the Stolen Generations. What makes great literature great is its timelessness. By this I mean the fact that what is said in, say 1815, is still relevant in, say, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Jane Austen and the Stolen Generations
Monday musings on Australian literature: Teaching indigenous texts
This post was inspired by an email I received from Reading Australia announcing a partnership with the Broome-based indigenous publisher Magabala Books for a project that was inspired by the many teachers who reached out to Reading Australia to ask for more resources on works by Indigenous creators, and particularly units that showed non-Indigenous teachers … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Teaching indigenous texts
Stan Grant, Talking to my country (#BookReview)
History is, in a way, the main subject of my reading group's October book, Stan Grant's Talking to my country. I'm consequently somewhat nervous about writing this post, because discussions of history in Australia are apt to generate more emotion than rational discussion. I will, though, discuss it - through my interested lay historian's eyes. … Continue reading Stan Grant, Talking to my country (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 