AustLit

'Flock: First Nations Stories Then and Now, edited by Ellen van Neerven, is a collection of previously published short stories showcasing the talents of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers spanning the past 25 years. In the introduction van Neerven notes that the title Flock is carefully chosen, in part, as an acknowledgement to an Aboriginal literary giant, Kerry Reed Gilbert, who nurtured writers through the First Nations Australian Writers Network, which she co-founded and chaired.  ‘We all have our own pair of beautiful wings,’ writes van Neerven, ‘but we fly together in formation. Together we are stronger. We flock together.’ This is what the collection exemplifies, the unification of Indigenous stories, of reclaiming identity, stories and culture.'  (Introduction)