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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Notes
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Dedication: dedicated to all Asian-Australians, whose struggles, aspirations and hopes across the generations have helped make this an ace country in which to grow up.
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Dedication: For Alexander, Alison and Alina, who make life wonderful, because they are.
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You can watch the author speak about this work here on the Black Inc. website.
Affiliation Notes
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This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it contains stories about Asian-Australian children and young adults.
Contents
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The Relative Advantage of Learning My Language,
single work
autobiography
Choi writes about her relationship with her grandfather when she was a teenager, and how the relationship was affected by her unwillingness to continue learning Chinese.
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Sticks and Stones and Such Like,
single work
autobiography
Sunil gets teased at school about his name and his skin colour. Perhaps learning his name's meaning will help him to like it better.
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Learning English,
single work
short story
A surreal account of learning English through lessons and television viewing.
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Chinese Lessons,
single work
autobiography
Australian-born Ivy dreads her Saturday morning Chinese lessons, but they are very important to her Taiwanese father.
- The Early Settlersi"Great-Grandfather arrived", single work poetry (p. 25)
- The Terroristsi"They are everywhere", single work poetry (p. 26)
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The Upside-Down Year,
single work
autobiography
In 1961, 16-year-old Francis Lee is sent from Hong Kong to college in Sydney. He boards a ship for the journey.
- The Water Buffalo, single work short story fantasy (p. 32-39)
- The Ganges and Its Tributaries, extract (p. 39-42)
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The Beat of a Different Drum,
single work
autobiography
14-year-old Simon arrives in Geelong in 1982. Hong Kong-born, he struggles to adjust to his new life, and the English language causes particular problems.
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Pigs from Home,
single work
autobiography
Dac writes about his childhood experiences with pigs kept for slaughter.
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Spiderbait,
single work
autobiography
Shun Wah relates her experiences working on her family's poultry farm as a child.
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Take Me Away, Please,
single work
autobiography
Chan relates her childhood experiences of working in her parents' Chinese restaurant in Mareeba.
- ABC Supermarket, Matt Huynh (illustrator), single work autobiography (p. 68-71)
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Wei-Lei and Me,
single work
autobiography
Indian Aditi and Chinese Wei-Li are tormented by Australian Barry at school in Canberra.
- Hot and Spicy, single work short story (p. 81-88)
- Lessons from My School Years, single work autobiography (p. 89-96)
- Exotic Rissole, extract autobiography (p. 96-100)
- Perfect Chinese Children, single work autobiography (p. 103-111)
- The Asian Disease, single work autobiography (p. 111-121)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also sound recording.
- Also large print.
Works about this Work
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Yellow Fever
2021
single work
— Appears in: Meanjin , Autumn vol. 80 no. 1 2021;'Yellow might be a simple colour—the third colour of the rainbow—but it means different things to different people. For some, it conjures up the image of daffodils, for others, the Kraft cheese singles wrapped in plastic that were the staple of every primary school kid’s lunchbox in the 1990s and early 2000s. For others still, it might be the doors of the Queensland Rail trains, ever slow to open, ever fast to close. In colour psychology, the right yellow can increase optimism, self-esteem, confidence, friendliness, creativity. However, the wrong yellow can result in feelings of fear, irrationality and anxiety.' (Introduction)
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Asian Australian Identities: Embodiments and Inhabitations
2020
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Intercultural Studies , vol. 41 no. 6 2020; (p. 667-676)'Theories of embodiment recognise the critical politics of emplacement associated with the body, as well as its situatednesses in, and as, sites of performance. What happens when such locations shift due to crossings in terms of bloodlines, caste, class, family, gender, nation, race, region, religion, ability and sexuality, among others? How do embodiments that cross perimetres of categories inhabit their place and being, both in the Bourdieusian sense of habitus as well as that of phenomenologists like Merleau-Ponty? Following from these questions, we examine and explore the ways in which Asian Australian land/mind/body scapes and embodiments are made meaningful in changing contexts of communities and crossings, how habitations over space, time and history challenge our ideas of being and body. The theme of embodiments and inhabitations reflects on past practices that have shaped, and continue to shape, the lives of Asian Australians, and to interrogate these practices while also moving beyond them to generate new knowledge. Our analyses push the boundaries of notions of home, rootedness, belonging and place, and past and present: we re-invent, instead of simply responding to the limited ways in which Asian Australians have been hitherto conceptualised and their experiences understood in dominant discourses.' (Publication abstract)
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Beer With Bella : Benjamin Law
Isabella Kwai
(interviewer),
2019
single work
interview
— Appears in: The New York Times , 31 October 2019; -
Eating the Vernacular, Being Cosmopolitan
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Cultural Studies Review , vol. 19 no. 1 2013; (p. 117-137) 'Using a mixed methodology of ethnography in Australia, Vietnam and India, auto-ethnography and textual analysis of Australian migrants' biographies, this article uses the stories of 'insiders' and 'outsiders' to explore the importance of the vernacular, and the implications of authenticity in the maintenance of homely identities and the development of cosmopolitan ones.' (Author's abstract)
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Editorial : Not Another Asian Australian Anthology?
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: Peril : An Asian-Australian Journal , no. 15 2013;
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Book of the Week
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 15 June 2008; (p. 26)
— Review of Growing up Asian in Australia 2008 anthology autobiography short story poetry interview extract -
Other Voices, Shared Lives
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 21 June 2008; (p. 25)
— Review of Growing up Asian in Australia 2008 anthology autobiography short story poetry interview extract -
Writing from the Roots
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , July-August no. 303 2008; (p. 42-43)
— Review of Growing up Asian in Australia 2008 anthology autobiography short story poetry interview extract -
The Children of Two Cultures
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 5-6 July 2008; (p. 32)
— Review of Growing up Asian in Australia 2008 anthology autobiography short story poetry interview extract -
[Review] Growing Up Asian in Australia
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , July no. 341 2008; (p. 32)
— Review of Growing up Asian in Australia 2008 anthology autobiography short story poetry interview extract -
Growing Up Asian in Australia
Matthia Dempsey
(interviewer),
2008
single work
interview
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , April/May vol. 87 no. 8 2008; (p. 39) -
Growing Up Asian in Australia
2008
single work
interview
— Appears in: Kasama , September vol. 22 no. 3 2008; -
The Original Introduction to 'Growing Up Asian in Australia'
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Peril : An Asian-Australian Journal , November no. 8 2009; -
‘English’ in the Australian Curriculum: English
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 47 no. 1 2012; (p. 19-25) 'The author has been a consultant to the national curriculum process from its beginnings in 2008, first with the interim National Curriculum Board (NCB) and then with the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority (ACARA). In this paper he offers an overview of how the English curriculum was developed, outlines some of the issues that proved to be most difficult and even controversial during the consultation period, then looks briefly at the English curriculum itself to reflect on how he thinks teachers might use it to develop their teaching materials. Finally, he returns to some of the differences that emerged between school and university teachers of English during the consultation phase and suggests some of the ways in which current academic research might contribute to curriculum content. The author argues that these differences raise what are essentially institutional problems that might best be addressed by improving the relationships between our respective peak professional bodies. (Author abstract) -
Keep Your Eyes on the Horizon and Your Feet on the Ground : Some Reflections on Implementing the Australian Curriculum : English
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: English in Australia , vol. 47 no. 3 2012; (p. 13-19)
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