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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'In small-town suburban Australia, three young men from three different ethnic backgrounds--one Samoan, one Macedonian, one not sure--are ready to make their mark. Solomon is all charisma, authority, and charm, a failed basketball player down for the moment but surely not out. His half-brother, Jimmy, bounces along in his wake, underestimated, waiting for his chance to announce himself. Aleks, their childhood friend, loves his mates, his family, and his homeland and would do anything for them. The question is, does he know where to draw the line? Solomon, Jimmy, and Aleks are way out on the fringe of Australia, looking for a way in. Hip hop, basketball, and graffiti give them a voice. Booze, women, and violence pass the time while they wait for their chance. Under the oppressive summer sun, their town has turned tinder-dry. All it'll take is a spark. As the surrounding hills roar with flames, the change storms in. But it's not what they were waiting for. It never is.'
Source: Publisher's blurb (New Press edition).
Reading Australia
This work has Reading Australia teaching resources.
Unit Suitable For AC: Senior Secondary English (Unit 3)
Duration Four to six weeks
Curriculum Summary
Find a summary table for Australian Curriculum: Literature content descriptions and NSW Syllabus outcomes for this unit.
Themes
acceptance, escapism, identity, loneliness, masculinity, migrant experience, racism, violence
General Capabilities
Ethical understanding, Intercultural understanding, Literacy, Personal and social
Cross-curriculum Priorities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, Sustainability
Notes
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A novel in verse form.
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Dedication: For my mother, Helen
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Epigraph:
The true subject of poetry is the loss of the beloved - Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Face the fire –Jimblah
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Australian Poetry Now
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Poetry , May 2016; (p. 185-191) 'Once asked what poets can do for Australia, A.D. Hope replied: “They can justify its existence.” Such has been the charge of Australian poets, from Hope himself to Kenneth Slessor, Judith Wright to Les Murray, Anthony Lawrence to Judith Beveridge: to articulate the Australian experience so that it might live in the imagination of its people. While the presence and potency of the Australian landscape remains an abiding interest, a great deal of Australian poetry has been innovative and experimental, with poets such as Robert Adamson, Michael Dransfield, Vicki Viidikas, John Forbes, Gig Ryan, J.S. Harry, and Jennifer Maiden leading the way. The richness, strength, and vitality of Australian poetry is marked by a prodigious diversity that makes it as exhilarating to survey as it is challenging to encapsulate.' (Introduction) -
Australia in Three Books
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Spring vol. 75 no. 3 2016; (p. 21-23) -
Weirding English : The New Scripture of the Suburbs in Omar Musa's 'Here Come the Dogs'
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings , October no. 23 2015; (p. 167-181)
— Review of Here Come the Dogs 2014 single work novel -
The New Australian Literary Frontier : Writing Western Sydney
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 17 February 2015; -
Young Novelists Speak with Original Voices
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 23-24 May 2015; (p. 17) The Canberra Times , 23 May 2015; (p. 13)
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Omar Musa's Debut Novel is So Hot Even Scottish Author Irvine Welsh Endorses It...
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 12 July 2014; (p. 6)
— Review of Here Come the Dogs 2014 single work novel -
To a Hip-Hop Beat, the Beauty of the Streets
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 19-20 July 2014; (p. 18)
— Review of Here Come the Dogs 2014 single work novel 'Australian-Malaysian rapper, poet and now novelist Omar Musa resists the limitations of genre and ethnicity as he tells Mark Mordue.' -
Street Poetry Committed to the Page
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 23 July 2014;
— Review of Here Come the Dogs 2014 single work novel -
Talking at You, but Nust Who's Listening
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2-3 August 2014; (p. 21)
— Review of Here Come the Dogs 2014 single work novel -
Hybrid Life on the Margins
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 6-7 September 2014; (p. 32-33)
— Review of Here Come the Dogs 2014 single work novel -
Interview : Omar Musa
2014
single work
interview
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 16 August 2014; (p. 26-27) The Age , 16 August 2014; (p. 30) -
Young Novelists Speak with Original Voices
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 23-24 May 2015; (p. 17) The Canberra Times , 23 May 2015; (p. 13) -
The New Australian Literary Frontier : Writing Western Sydney
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 17 February 2015; -
Australian Poetry Now
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Poetry , May 2016; (p. 185-191) 'Once asked what poets can do for Australia, A.D. Hope replied: “They can justify its existence.” Such has been the charge of Australian poets, from Hope himself to Kenneth Slessor, Judith Wright to Les Murray, Anthony Lawrence to Judith Beveridge: to articulate the Australian experience so that it might live in the imagination of its people. While the presence and potency of the Australian landscape remains an abiding interest, a great deal of Australian poetry has been innovative and experimental, with poets such as Robert Adamson, Michael Dransfield, Vicki Viidikas, John Forbes, Gig Ryan, J.S. Harry, and Jennifer Maiden leading the way. The richness, strength, and vitality of Australian poetry is marked by a prodigious diversity that makes it as exhilarating to survey as it is challenging to encapsulate.' (Introduction) -
Australia in Three Books
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Spring vol. 75 no. 3 2016; (p. 21-23)
Awards
- 2016 longlisted International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
- 2016 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards — Award for Fiction
- 2015 joint winner The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year
- 2015 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing
- 2015 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — The Matt Richell Award for New Writer
- Sydney, New South Wales,
- 2000-2014