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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'This is the first collection to span the diverse range of Black Australian writings. Thirty-six Aboriginal and Islander authors have contributed, including David Unaipon, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Gerry Bostock, Ruby Langford, Robert Bropho, Jack Davis, Hyllus Maris, William Ferguson, Sally Morgan, Mudrooroo Narogin and Archie Weller. Many more are represented through community writings such as petitions and letters.
Collected over six years from all the states and territories of Australia, Paperbark ranges widely across time and genre from the 1840s to the present, from transcriptions of oral literature to rock opera. Prose, poetry, song, drama and polemic are accompanied by the selected artworks of Jimmy Pike, and an extensive, up-to-date bibliography.The voices of Black Australia speak with passion and power in this challenging and important anthology.' Source: Publisher's blurb.
Notes
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Includes: The Year of Mourning, list of speeches by Gary Foley, Reverend Charles Harris, Galarrwuy Yunupingu, Tiga Bayles, Karen Flick. pages 330-332.
Editors notes:
The Sydney protests against the Bicentenary which took place on 25-26 January 1988 were historic events which captured the attention of the world. Over 30,000 marchers, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, protested against the celebration of 200 years of European occupation of the continent. The following excerpts are taken from a verbatim transcript of the speeches delivered at the post-march gathering.
Contents
- Note, single work autobiography (p. vii-ix)
- Paperbark : A Collection of Black Australian Writings : Introduction, single work criticism biography (p. 1-6)
- The Legend of Jimmy's Axei"Here is the legend of Jimmy's axe", single work poetry (p. 9)
- Manteenai"And from Manteena's dreams he came", single work poetry (p. 11)
- For Kath Walkeri"My words are like the banksia.", single work poetry (p. 12)
- Ngungalarii"I go. I go. I go.", single work poetry (p. 13)
- The Hunteri"I sing a song to the kangaroo", single work poetry (p. 14)
- The Huntersi"Outside the weather-boarded hall she stands", single work poetry (p. 15)
- Noonkenbahi"My mother's breast", single work poetry (p. 16)
- The Last Songmani"Alone I sit.", single work poetry (p. 17)
- Untitledi"Our songman is a flashing silver king", single work poetry (p. 18)
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Narroondarie's Wives,
single work
short story
'Narroondarie is the name of one of the many good men that were sent among the various tribes of the Australian Aborigines...' (David Unaipon, 1924-25)
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Wondangar, Goon na Ghun (Whale and Star Fish),
single work
short story
A story about the arrival of the strange beings, Wondangar (the Whales) and the Goon Na Ghun (the Star Fishes) to Shoal Haven. (David Unaipon, 1924-25)
- Testimony to Gawler Testimony to Gawleri"us the chest beats at his absence", single work poetry (p. 53-54)
- I Went to Perth Once Tooi"I went to Perth once too (rasping) -", single work poetry (p. 61-63)
- "Cuppa Tea" Songi"Woman "Porkupine" tea made", single work poetry (p. 64)
- The Possum Woman, single work short story (p. 65-66)
- Goanna Hibernating Goanna Hibernatingi"in the winter Dead-ant Goanna", single work poetry (p. 67-78)
- A Story of Wongawol Station, single work short story (p. 69-75)
- The Letter, single work short story (p. 79-81)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also braille, sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Engaging with Indigeneity : Reflections on Translating Aboriginal Writing into Tamil
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Narratives of Estrangement and Belonging : Indo-Australian Perspectives 2016; (p. 113-128)This paper attempts to create a dialogue 'between the local and the cross-cultural aspects of marginality and may help evolve pedagogical methods to engage with, if not emancipate, the underprivileged in the classroom'. (114)
-
The Study of Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Literature in China
2015
single work
— Appears in: Oceanic Literary Studies , no. 2 2015; (p. 236-247) 'Australian Aboriginal literature, a unique genre in Australian Literature, has greatly contributed to its diversity and colorfulness. Its status has improved because of the awaking of Aboriginal people and constant emerging of Aboriginal writers. This paper emphatically probes into three stages, reviews the Australian Aboriginal literature studies in China and discusses some of the major characteristics. Remarkable achievements have been made in the past thirty years, but there still exist some problems, including inadequate sense of Aboriginality, lack of diachronic and holistic study of a writer's thoughts, inadequate research on the works of Aboriginal writers born after the 1960s.' (236-237) -
Indigenous Stories Told Collectively
BlackWords : Indigenous Stories Told Collectively
2015
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The BlackWords Essays 2015; (p. 5) The BlackWords Essays 2019;In this essay Heiss discusses and explains the important role of anthologies in the creation of communities of writers and in acknowledging, consolidating and launching writing careers.
-
The Uniqueness of the BlackWords Resource : Memoir of an Indexer
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 3 2014;'Since its launch in 2007 BlackWords has enjoyed strong Indigenous leadership and a dedicated Indigenous team, allowing Indigenous storytellers, academics and researchers to determine its look, content, and scope. The BlackWords team of researchers and indexers is a community consisting of individuals from across institutions such as the University of Queensland, the University of Western Australia, Flinders University, the University of Sydney, the University of Wollongong and AIATSIS, each of whom has brought their own expertise and specialist interest to the database (BlackWords; Holt; Kilner 62). ' (Author's introduction)
-
Black and White : In Search of an ‘Apt’ Response to Indigenous Writing
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , October vol. 14 no. 2 2010; 'The good editor,' suggests Thomas McCormack in his Fiction Editor, the Novel and the Novelist, 'reads, and ... responds aptly' to the writer's work, 'where "aptly" means "as the ideal appropriate reader would".' McCormack develops an argument that encompasses the dual ideas of sensibility and craft as essential characteristics of the fiction editor. But at an historical juncture that has seen increasing interest in the publication of Indigenous writing, and when Indigenous writers themselves may envisage a multiplicity of readers (writing, for instance, for family and community, and to educate a wider white audience), who is the 'ideal appropriate reader' for the literary works of the current generation of Australian Indigenous writers? And what should the work of this 'good editor' be when engaging with the text of an Indigenous writer? This paper examines such questions using the work of Margaret McDonell and Jennifer Jones, among others, to explore ways in which non-Indigenous editors may apply aspects of McCormack's 'apt response' to the editing of Indigenous texts.' (Author's abstract)
-
Sheltering Behind Images of Love and Life
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: Social Alternatives , October vol. 9 no. 3 1990; (p. 66-67)
— Review of A Body of Water : A Year's Notebook 1990 selected work autobiography short story poetry diary ; The Honey-Ant Men's Love Song and Other Aboriginal Song Poems 1990 anthology poetry criticism biography ; Taking Shelter 1989 single work novel ; Paperbark : A Collection of Black Australian Writings 1990 anthology poetry drama short story criticism prose autobiography biography -
Aboriginal Encounters
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 20 August no. 4716 1993; (p. 4-5)
— Review of The Kadaitcha Sung 1990 single work novel ; The Kwinkan 1993 single work novel ; Paperbark : A Collection of Black Australian Writings 1990 anthology poetry drama short story criticism prose autobiography biography ; Writing from the Fringe : A Study of Modern Aboriginal Literature 1990 single work criticism -
A Hectic, Bountiful Decade for Aboriginal Literature
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 6 October 1990; (p. B8)
— Review of Paperbark : A Collection of Black Australian Writings 1990 anthology poetry drama short story criticism prose autobiography biography ; Holocaust Island 1990 selected work poetry -
Australian Literature, Black and White
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Bookseller & Publisher , May vol. 69 no. 1004 1990; (p. 28)
— Review of Paperbark : A Collection of Black Australian Writings 1990 anthology poetry drama short story criticism prose autobiography biography -
Rare Gems Fill a Paperbark Treasure-Trove
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 19 May 1990; (p. 8)
— Review of Paperbark : A Collection of Black Australian Writings 1990 anthology poetry drama short story criticism prose autobiography biography -
Literature as Reconciliation of Confusing Identities
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Bernard Hickey, a Roving Cultural Ambassador : Essays in His Memory. 2009; (p. 149-159) -
Black and White : In Search of an ‘Apt’ Response to Indigenous Writing
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , October vol. 14 no. 2 2010; 'The good editor,' suggests Thomas McCormack in his Fiction Editor, the Novel and the Novelist, 'reads, and ... responds aptly' to the writer's work, 'where "aptly" means "as the ideal appropriate reader would".' McCormack develops an argument that encompasses the dual ideas of sensibility and craft as essential characteristics of the fiction editor. But at an historical juncture that has seen increasing interest in the publication of Indigenous writing, and when Indigenous writers themselves may envisage a multiplicity of readers (writing, for instance, for family and community, and to educate a wider white audience), who is the 'ideal appropriate reader' for the literary works of the current generation of Australian Indigenous writers? And what should the work of this 'good editor' be when engaging with the text of an Indigenous writer? This paper examines such questions using the work of Margaret McDonell and Jennifer Jones, among others, to explore ways in which non-Indigenous editors may apply aspects of McCormack's 'apt response' to the editing of Indigenous texts.' (Author's abstract) -
A Short History of Aboriginal Writing
1990
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Independent Monthly , August vol. 2 no. 2 1990; (p. 36-38) -
Moving Around
Chris Healy
(interviewer),
1999
single work
interview
— Appears in: Meanjin , vol. 58 no. 3 1999; (p. 174-191) -
Aboriginal Writing
2000
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture 2000; (p. 313-320)
Awards
- 1990 highly commended Human Rights Awards — Prose Award