NAIDOC Week 2022: Books to Help You Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!
“We have always been here
We are still here
We are not going anywhere”
― Claire G. Coleman
The start of July marks NAIDOC Week 2022, and this year’s theme is giving us all the big feels.
Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! is a roaring call to arms to remind us there is still work to be done - now is not the time to sit back and relax.
I don’t know about you, but the idea of ‘showing up’ is one I’ve struggled with. What does it look like? How can we ‘show up’ in authentic, engaged ways? For me, it all comes back to building a foundation of self-knowledge and education and growing from there.
Showing up can sometimes mean stepping back and making space for other voices. Reading might not be the answer here - but it’s definitely one way to get started.
Fiction
After Story by Larissa behrendt
Jasmine, an indigenous lawyer, is burnt out after an intense case and decides to take her mother Della on a tour of England’s most revered literary sites. She hopes the trip will help her and her mother forge a closer connection, and through the immersion in her literary idols, she might rekindle Della’s passion for her own culture and storytelling. Their trip takes a tumultuous turn when a young child mysteriously goes missing on Hampstead Heath, returning them both to memories from twenty-five years earlier and the devastating disappearance of Jasmine’s sister. Told from mother-daughter alternating perspectives After Story is an engrossing, fast-paced meditation on culture, storytelling, and the lingering effects of trauma. It’s a powerful look at the role of storytelling, who gets to tell the stories, and who listens.
Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray: River of Dreams by Anita Heiss
Set in Wiradjuri country, 1852, where the powerful Murrumbidgee River lets it be known it can make or break dreams, Wagadhaany is one of the few lucky ones who has survived the recent destructive surge of the river. But her survival feels ripped away as she is forced to move away from her miyagan and live along the lines of White man’s law. She longs to return to the river, and her ancestors, in search of what is left of her family and country. Based on true events, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray is a timeless tale of hope and heartache, loss and belonging. As Chris Gordon mentions in his review, “We need more of these stories; more novels that reflect Australia’s colonial past through the eyes of First Nations women.”
Non-Fiction
Lies Damned Lies: A Personal Exploration of the Impact of Colonisation by Claire G Coleman
The latest release from trail-blazing Noongar writer, Claire G. Coleman, Lies Damned Lies is the embodiment of Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! that we need to be reading this month. Coined as one of Australia’s finest contemporary writers, Coleman offers a profoundly personal exploration of Australia’s colonial past, its impact on our present, and what it means for our future. Reminding us that colonisation is far from over, Coleman blends personal and political, hope and anger, reminding us that “colonisation is a process, not an event” - and we need to keep revisiting the after-effects while people still remember it if we are to truly forge a better future.
Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience by Veronica Gorrie
It’s easy to see why this won the 2022 Victorian Prize for Literature - with wicked humour and a natural knack for storytelling, proud Kurnai woman Veronia Gorrie narrates her experiences of growing up watching friends and family suffer under a deeply compromised law-enforcement system. Her answer? To take on the system by signing up to train as one of Australia’s few Aboriginal police officers. In this account, she shares what she witnessed in her ten years on the force, including institutional racism and sexism, and how she fought to provide compassionate law enforcement service to civilians in need. This is an incredible and insightful must-read of one resilient Aboriginal woman’s journey in a white, male-dominated workplace.
Poetry
Harvest Lingo by Lionel Fogarty
The fourteenth poetry collection from Murri man, Lionel Fogarty, does not fail to capture the energy and “linguistic audacity” he is well known and loved for. A leading Indigenous rights activist, this collection was written during his time in India and sees Fogarty drawing strong parallels between the social problems he witnessed with his home country and people. Fogarty never shies away from the hard truths he has witnessed, and in this stunning collection, he continues to put forth a bold, fierce and compelling voice. With another beautiful cover design from the powerhouse of Giramondo Publishing, this is a collection that will linger for years to come after reading.
Cartwarra or What: Selected Stories and Poems by Alf Taylor
A vital collection and essential reading from a representative of an older generation of Blak writers who survived the Stolen Generations, Taylor’s work here spans genres and brings together a selection of his work from a thirty-year career. “Raw and intermittently melodramatic”, Taylor weaves humour and iconic storytelling to bring his characters to life. With lyrical prose imbued with a soft cadence, Taylor’s capacity for storytelling “exposes the uncomfortable truths of alcoholism, separation from family, community and land, grief and the profound loss of identity” in Aboriginal communities. Filled with unexpected kindness, this is a testament to the enduring resilience and strength of Aboriginal families everywhere.
Anthologies
This All Come Back Now: An Anthology of First Nations Speculative Fiction Edited by Mykaela Saunders
I have been eagerly awaiting this one to arrive in my letterbox for the past week, so while I’m yet to read it, I HAD to include it on this list. The first-ever anthology of speculative fiction from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island writers, this collection has been “written, curated, edited and designed by blackfellas, for blackfellas and about blackfellas”. Fierce and unapologetic, these stories tackle all the things taken from First Nations people, the legacy of intergenerational trauma, and the ongoing sense of loss and mourning that arises as they attempt to recover and revive their cultural heritage, languages and lands. Evocative and passionately unsettling, This All Come Back Now is “a love letter to kin and country, memory and future-thinking.”
maar bidi; next-generation black writing edited by Elfie Shiosaki & Linda Martin
Evocative and elegant, maar bidi showcases the diverse voices of young black writers in a superbly selected collection of prose and fiction. Telling the narratives and experiences that matter to the young writers behind the work, maar bidi takes the reader on a journey through conflicting worlds. Grappling with the context of old and new and what it means to be a young person of colour in modern society, this collection throws out any anthological framework, offering an eclectic mix of styles and formats instead. Each piece of writing is unique, but collectively they provide a map of what it means to be young and black in Australia today.
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This is just a snapshot of some of the books currently available, and there will be more forthcoming in the second half of this year. Let us know of any others we should be getting our hands on.
Elaine Mead is a freelance writer and book reviewer, currently residing in nipaluna (Hobart), Tasmania. She is passionate about the ways we can use literature to learn from our experiences to become more authentic versions of ourselves and obsessed with showing you photos of her Dachshund puppy. You can find her online under www.wordswithelaine.com.
