Anita Heiss

Superb although, perhaps in a very real sense, dated by its choice of focus.

This anthology accompanies the larger Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature and it is a worthy decision to give Aboriginal Literature its own volume entirely. The power of the material contained herein is at times overwhelming. Heiss and Minter collect letters and speeches given from the early 19th century through to the middle of the 20th century, with more focus on traditional "literature", i.e. poetry and fiction, in the second half of the 20th century. (Until at least WWII, Aboriginal Australians were essentially wards of the state, requiring permission to marry and get employment, often having their wages given directly to their state overseer to protect them, and routinely having children taken from their families to be raised in white households, the famous Stolen Generation. As a result, there were really only two or three "literary" Indigenous writers until late in the last century.)A

What is most poignant for me personally, as a white Australian who grew up in the 1990s, is how few of these voices were taught to me at school or in my broader social education. The manifestos that were shared back in 1938, Australia's sesquicentenary, have an awful lot in common with modern Indigenous demands - yet a lot of people today feel as if these arguments are new! There has been a blank space in Australian history, or at least a hazy one, and this anthology helps rectify that. Every writer here is of interest, with the final inclusion - Tara June Winch - being a perceptive one: at the time she had recently published a debut work; a decade later, she is widely considered one of our best novelists.

Of course, all anthologies delight and frustrate, sometimes in equal measure. It's understandable that this volume takes the "Cultural Studies" approach to literature - i.e. widening the scope to include letters, autobiography, and manifestos - because, as mentioned above, due to historic injustices it would have been hard to find enough writers otherwise. Additionally, since much of the Aboriginal experience has been one of fighting daily oppression, it makes sense that a compilation of lived experiences, many told with wit and insight, is an effective way to render this ancient, oral culture on the page. It is slightly sad, but understandable, that the editors choose to omit the many traditional songs which were collected in the first half of the 20th century by passionate white anthropologist-poets such as Roland Robinson. But as these songs were transmitted through white hands and white minds, it is fair to say many of them do not represent a true experience, in much the same way as the beautiful translations of Chinese poetry by Ezra Pound and his contemporaries are poetic wonders in their own right, but not a very useful insight into the depths of genuine Chinese art.

In terms of "canonical" Aboriginal writers, the only notable omission for me is the late Colin Johnson, aka Mudrooroo. A powerful voice between the 1960s and 1980s, Mudrooroo's legacy was shattered when questions were raised about his Aboriginality. It is now generally considered that he was mistaken in his self-identification with Aboriginal Australia, although more critical voices accuse him of outright fraud. With the author's death, this controversy has subsided, and the editors make glancing reference to him in the introduction when - without citing his name - they indicate they have omitted authors who are "in dialogue with local communities regarding ancestry and identity".

I do think, though, that this anthology perhaps does the same as many modern anthologies; it sands off the rough edges. There aren't really any voices from the more conservative side of Aboriginal life, those who do not agree with the mainstream movement. Additionally some of the most progressive, radical voices of recent years also seem to miss out, those who perhaps make white people uncomfortable rather than just acknowledging the plight. With such a groundbreaking publication, which has the ability to fall into the hands of ignorant people like myself and awaken us to the realities of the last 230 years, it is completely understandable that the editors chose to sand off the spiky edges. Here's hoping that this anthology will have many future editions, and that with time it will be allowed as much complexity and nuance as the best anthologies should.… (altro)

This is an Australian rural romance by Wiradjuri woman Anita Heiss. She takes the city girl meets cowboy staple and adds a few twists of her own.

Sassy and smart art curator Annabelle has just started running with her safe, reliable neighbour Michael when she and her tiddas (sisters) go on a road trip to the rodeo. She and CJ, MJ and Angel get dressed up in boots, akubras and blingey jeans and head out for an adventure. For Annabelle the adventure starts when she meets hot Indigenous cowboy Dusty. Despite all the warnings her friends give her that he has nothing in common with her sophisticated artsy city lifestyle, her pulse is racing and she is captivated. Do opposites really attract or will her friends prove right?

This was a short and light chic-lit romance. I loved the banter and friendship between the woman, and the uniquely warm and joyful blackfella humour. This felt like it could easily be the start of a series exploring the other girls’ stories also. The audio narration was excellent. My only complaint was it finished too quickly and the frequent references to veganism and animal liberation seemed slightly at odds with a book enjoying a rodeo romp. I wondered whether this was just part of the trend of modern books to need to tick as many issues on the list as possible to seem woke enough and to pacify all the haters. I also felt the cowboy was clearly portrayed through a city lens, in a kind of exotic but boorish way, which made me a little sad.

Overall an enjoyable easy read and wonderful to have some Indigenous romances out there, hopefully she will write more!… (altro)

Representation: First Australian character
Trigger warnings: Racism

6.5/10, after reading a quite a realistic book to say the least I was hoping that I would enjoy this historical/realistic book and I keep coming back to this genre with mixed results and though I enjoyed this I just wanted more from it, like something was missing from it that made me drop this to 3 stars, where do I begin. It starts off with the main character Mel Gordon who is a First Australian living her normal life in the year 2000 when the Sydney Olympics were just around the corner. Also only a few pages later Cathy Freeman comes to her school and she wants to be an athlete in the future and that was a nice part of the book however there are a few things she has to do first. The story takes a turn when it mentions the Stolen Generations and how Australia still has to reconcile for what they did to First Australians and that was a nice message but I felt that was a bit disjointed and the book couldn't decide whether it was about racism or athletes but as far as I know it's both which I struggle to wrap my head around. In the end there was a character who said racist things to Mel and they were called out for it and that ends the book which is quite a mixed bag. On the plus side it's authentic so there's that.… (altro)