AustLit

'I looked at the streets of Yagoona through eyes stinging with melted Maybelline liquid liner. Yagoona looked back at me, the wannabe hipster who dreamed of moving to a share house in the inner west, and cackled.

'Funny Ethnics catapults readers into the sprawling city-within-a-city that is Western Sydney and the world of Sylvia Nguyen: only child of Vietnamese refugee parents, unexceptional student, exceptional self-doubter. It’s a place where migrants from across the world converge, and identity is a slippery, ever-shifting beast.

'Jumping through snapshots of Sylvia’s life – from childhood to something resembling adulthood – this novel is about square pegs and round holes, those who belong and those on the fringes. It’s a funhouse mirror held up to modern Australia revealing suburban fortune tellers, train-carriage preachers, crumbling friendships and bad stand-up comedy.

'In Funny Ethnics, Shirley Le uses a coming-of-age tale to reveal a side of Australia so ordinary that it’s entirely bizarre.' (Publication summary)

'On the day that Donald Trump was elected president of the United States in 2016, four hood-rats clash in a string of violence, substance abuse and sexual encounters. This is a vivid and compelling portrait of life growing up in Western Sydney. 

'Experienced as a multi-screen installation Sex, Drugs & Pork Rolls is an oral storytelling experience from the heartland of multicultural Australia. The four-part monologue weaves together a portrait of young people of colour (POC) growing up in the Western suburbs of Sydney. Presented across four screens, live audiences will experience the work from the comfort of a socially-distanced chair while enjoying a complimentary Bánh mì. 

'Sex, Drugs & Pork Rolls has been created by a team of extraordinary artists and technicians, all of whom are from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse background, infusing the work with depth and authenticity. The work resonates with an astute sense of place, connection and shared experiences of those traversing the tensions and challenges of mixed cultural mores and behaviours with empathy, humour and uncompromising clarity of truth. 

'Written by Winnie Dunn, Stephen Pham, Shirley Le and Omar Sakr, with script editing and dramaturgical support from acclaimed author Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Sex, Drugs & Pork Rolls has been crafted for the screen by Helpmann Award winner S.Shakthidharan and performers Hazem Shammas, Emily Havea, Aileen Huynh and Henry Vo.' (Production summary)

'In February, Sydney Morning Herald’s Arts editor Nick Galvin announced a $150,000.00 grant to “significantly increase the depth and range of their arts criticism and reviews”. The initiative had been developed by the Copyright Agency and the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas, and would see the publication of a hundred reviews of Australian literature, visual arts and theatre in The Herald and The Age. Executive editor of The Herald and The Age, James Chessell, stated that this announcement was in step with the expectation of “any serious newsroom” to include criticism in their coverage of the arts. While the announcement did not explicitly mention diversity or inclusion, it also did not articulate a preference for writers from any particular community. On first impressions, this initiative suggested a promising opportunity for emerging voices in arts criticism.' (Introduction)

Winnie Siulolovao Dunn in conversation with Sydnye Allen and Shirley Le.

'Shirley Le talked to Maryam Azam about finding her purpose as a poet, the process behind putting together her debut poetry collection, The Hijab Files, and Wallah bros.'  (Introduction)

'I became a Buddhist after a Schoolies trip to Thailand.' The guest speaker was tanned and had wide shoulders that strained at the seams of his navy suit. He reminded me of Brad Pitt's wax figure in Madame Tussauds Museum down near Darling Harbour. Back in Year 8, we had a day collecting donations for the Cancer Council. My best friend Tammy and I snuck into the wax museum instead. Tammy pretended to marry Brad Pitt and I pretended to marry Bruce Willis. A thousand people came to our joint wedding at Crystal Palace in Canley Heights. Under the plastic chandeliers, the DJ played 'Time After Time' by Cindy Lauper. Bruce and I intertwined our arms and poured whiskey into each other's mouths while Tammy made out with Brad. A big security guy with skulls tattooed on his neck ambled over. His nametag read 'Fetu'.'