AustLit logo
Donna Leslie Donna Leslie i(A59575 works by) (a.k.a. Donna Maree Leslie)
Born: Established: 1963 ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Aboriginal Kamilaroi ; Aboriginal
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 Quiet Dignity: Thylacinus Cynocephalus. Thylacinis (Tasmanian Tiger) i "Thylacinus cynocephalus. Thylacinis (Tasmanian Tiger)", Donna Leslie , 2022 single work poetry
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues , December vol. 25 no. 3-4 2022; (p. 90)
1 Aboriginal Women’s Portraiture : Margaret Olley and Julie Dowling Donna Leslie , 2022 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues , December vol. 25 no. 3-4 2022; (p. 58-70)

'Portraits of Australian Aboriginal women have historically reflected artistic styles, changing perceptions and the unique characteristics of the individual artist, but it was not until the 1950s that Aboriginal women began to be presented by Australian portraitists in a more humanistic and holistic way. In the 1960s, a shift took place in the way Aboriginal women were portrayed, when the Australian artist Margaret Olley [1923-2011] focused upon Aboriginal women differently. She imaged Aboriginal women in terms of painterly aesthetics, ignoring the societal, racial and historical meanings that could have been symbolically attached to her imagery if she had chosen to do so. This article focuses firstly on Olley’s contribution and its interpretation by the Gamilaroi art historian, Donna Leslie. It then extends the investigation of Aboriginal women's portraiture in contemporary Australian art through the exploration of a select group of paintings by the portraitist Julie Dowling (1969-), of the Badimaya people of Western Australia. This article is written by an Indigenous Australian author.' (Publication abstract)

 

1 A Brush in Bushland i "Beautiful stamens", Donna Leslie , 2022 single work poetry
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues , June vol. 25 no. 1-2 2022; (p. 72)
1 Unique Tasmanian Devil - Sarcophilus harrisii i "'One night I heard you fighting, but it wasn't like you said...'", Donna Leslie , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues , December vol. 23 no. 3-4 2020; (p. 98)
1 Long live your native tongue! i "'One morning in the stormy bush, I could have sworn I heard The engine of a chainsaw, the whistle of a bird'...", Donna Leslie , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues , June vol. 23 no. 1-2 2020; (p. 108)
1 y separately published work icon Spiritual Journeying : The Art of Tim Johnson Donna Leslie , North Melbourne : Australian Scholarly Publishing , 2020 18679788 2020 single work biography

'As a young Australian artist, Tim Johnson sought to look beyond the world he knew and was familiar with into mysteries that naturally come with things foreign. He wanted to explore what it was like to exist beyond the margins of his known world and to reach into alternative spaces that interested him. This book documents his spiritual journeying and creative explorations. In 1980, Johnson's encounter with Aboriginal artists in the deserts of central Australia revolutionised his entire approach to art and life. In 1982, when he learned of the existence of the ancient medieval Buddhist cave temples of Mogao at Dunhuang in Western China, the experience also set his imagination aflame. The caves were an inspirational oasis of spirituality on the Silk Road and another powerful artistic expression in desert country. These two spiritual and artistic traditions inspired the path Johnson was to take over the next four decades. Over time his work expanded to include references to Japanese, Tibetan, Native American and a range of other sources and influences. Today, as a veteran artist, he has created an imagined universe abundantly informed by influences and ideas.' (Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon I Listened and I Looked Sue Briggs , Beverly Harvey , Donna Leslie (illustrator), Lindfield : Scholastic Australia , 2016 9527102 2016 single work children's fiction children's

'Dad and all the old people say theres a Bunyip in the river but Ive never seen her. Ive been looking for ages. Each month for a year a young girl checks the bend in the river. The seasons change, but there is no sign of the Bunyip. Are her family gammin her, or does the Bunyip really exist?' (Publication summary)

1 Gift of the Vanishing Sun i "I saw a kookaburra perched grandly", Donna Leslie , 2015 single work poetry
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues , September vol. 18 no. 3 2015; (p. 45)
1 So, Now You Must Go i "So, now you must go, ageless warrior", Donna Leslie , 2014 single work poetry
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues , September vol. 17 no. 3 2014; (p. 75)
1 Earth and Sky i "The wild blue, that vast Australian space", Donna Leslie , 2013 single work poetry
— Appears in: Ora Nui : Special Edition : A Collection of Maori and Aboriginal Literature (p. 92)
1 Across the Great Divide i "I was sitting in the gritty, dusty, dirty, foetid city", Donna Leslie , 2013 single work poetry
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues , September vol. 16 no. 3 2013; (p. 75-76)
1 Namatijira Ghost Gums i "Bushfire in the dry grasses", Donna Leslie , 2013 single work poetry
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues , March vol. 16 no. 1 2013; (p. 76)
1 For You Old Mate i "I'll write a poem for you old mate, I'll spin a yarn for you", Donna Leslie , 2012 single work poetry
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues , September vol. 15 no. 3 2012; (p. 81-82)
1 One Hundred Thousand Footsteps i "I walked across the wet claypan", Donna Leslie , 2012 single work poetry
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues , March vol. 15 no. 1 2012; (p. 95-96)
2 3 y separately published work icon Alitjinya Ngura Tjukurtjarangka Alitji in the Dreamtime Nancy Sheppard , Adelaide : University of Adelaide. Dept. of Adult Education , 1975 Z830420 1975 single work children's fiction children's fantasy humour

In this retelling of the Alice in Wonderland story set in Aboriginal Australia, the White Rabbit becomes the Kangaroo 'not, it should be emphasized, because there is no Pitjantjatjara word for 'rabbit', but simply because an Aboriginal Alice would naturally have seen a kangaroo in her dream.' (viii). Similarly the Red Queen is the Witch Spirit and the Caterpillar becomes a Witchety Grub while the Queen's Croquet Party becomes the Corroboree of the Witch Spirit. ('Introduction to Alitji' in Nancy Sheppard Alitjinya Ngura Tjukurtjarangka=Alitji in the Dreamtime (1975): viii).

X