Indigenous Literature Week 2017 at ANZ Litlovers
Cultural warning: Indigenous Australians are advised that some of the links from this blog include images or names of people now deceased.
For information about ILW 2017, click here.
Reviews
Thanks to everyone who is participating in 2017 Indigenous Literature Week – I hope that hosting this celebration helps to make more people aware of indigenous writing!
You are welcome to add your review/s early (or late). I will be monitoring this page until the end of July.
When you are ready to share your reviews, please use comments below:
Include
- your name & the name of your blog (if you have one) and the URL where your review is posted (your blog, or your GoodReads or Library Thing account).
(Please do not add Amazon consumer reviews because they generate intrusive Amazon ads and I don’t care to support Amazon advertising).
- If you don’t have a blog or a GoodReads/Library Thing account, then please share what you thought about the book you read in the comments section at the bottom of this post.
- Or, if you’d like to write a review of greater length, contact me at anzlitloversATbigpondDOTcom about writing a guest review to be hosted on the ANZ LitLovers blog.
I will gather these links to generate a list which will be added under the headings below on this page. I will also add any new titles that crop up to the permanent Indigenous Reading List.
PS If you haven’t signed up to participate yet, or want to know more about ILW, click on the link at the top of this page.
2017 Reviews (in alphabetical order by author)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors
Larissa Behrendt, of the Eualeyai/Kamilaroi people
- Home (2004) see my ANZ LitLovers review
Tony Birch, born in Melbourne and an urban Koorie of Aboriginal, Irish and West Indian descent
- The Promise (short stories), see Janine’s review at The Resident Judge of Port Phillip
Burnum Burnum, a Woiworrung and Yorta Yorta man at Wallaga Lake in southern New South Wales.
Jack Davis, a Noongar man from the Southwest of Western Australia
- A Boy’s Life, see Bill’s review at The Australian Legend
- No Sugar, (a play), see Bill’s review at The Australian Legend
Ali Cobby Eckermann, who identifies with the Yankunytjatjara / Kokatha people from the north west desert country of South Australia
- Inside my Mother, see Sue’s review at Whispering Gums
- Too Afraid to Cry, see Sue’s review at Whispering Gums
Ruby Langford Ginibi, A Bundjalung woman from New South Wales
- Don’t Take Your Love to Town, see my ANZ LitLovers review.
Liz Hayden, an indigenous woman from Western Australia
- ‘Our Warrior, Our Brother’ in Review of Australian Fiction Vol 15 Issue 4, see Marilyn’s review at Me, You and Books
Jeanine Leane, a Wiradjuri woman who grew up in southwest New South Wales near Gundagai
- Purple Threads, see Charlotte’s review at Booklog for Charlotte
Philip McLaren, of the Kamileroi People
NT Writers Centre
- This Country Anytime Anywhere, IADPress, featuring works by emerging writers as well as many winners of Northern Territory literary awards, including Marie Munkara, winner of the 2008 David Unaipon Award for Every Secret Thing (also judged the 2010 Northern Territory Book of the Year Award).
Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin, a Senior Wurundjeri elder of the Kulin alliance in Victoria, and Lisa Kennedy, a Trawlwoolway story teller and artist and a descendant of Woretemoeteyenner from North East Tasmania
- Welcome to Country, see Louise’s review at A Strong Belief in Wicker
Boori (Monty) Pryor, descended from the Birri-gubba nation of the Bowen region and the Kunggandji people from Yarrabah, near Cairns
- Maybe Tomorrow, see my ANZLitlovers review
Kim Scott, a Noongar man from southwest Western Australia
‘Departure’ in Review of Australian Fiction Vol 15 Issue 4
Us Women, Our Ways, Our World an anthology of essays edited by Pat Dudgeon, Jeannie Herbert and Darlene Oxenham
Ellen Van Neerven, a Mununjali woman from South East Queensland
- Heat and Light,
Tara June Winch of the Wiradjuri people
- After the Carnage(2016)
- see Karenlee’s review at Karenlee Thompson
Alexis Wright, a Waanyi woman from the Gulf of Carpentaria
- The Swan Book, see Bill’s review at The Australian Legend
Maori Authors
Witi Ihimaera, of Ngati Tuwharetoa and Te Arawa descent.
- The Whale Rider, see my ANZ LitLovers review
And from elsewhere…
- Celia’s Song by Lee Maracle of the Canadian Coast Salish people, review by Marilyn from You, Me and Books
- This Accident of Being Lost by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson of Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg ancestry in Canada, see Joe’s review at Rough Ghosts
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
[…] the page for Reviews from Indigenous Literature Week at ANZ LitLovers 2017 so that you can use the comments box there […]
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By: Announcing 2017 Indigenous Literature Week at ANZ LitLovers | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on June 6, 2017
at 5:18 pm
[…] 2017 Indigenous Literature Week at ANZ LitLovers […]
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By: A Boy’s Life, Jack Davis | theaustralianlegend on June 28, 2017
at 10:45 pm
I am looking at the life and work of Perth poet/playwright Jack Davis over 2 posts. Herewith Part I
https://theaustralianlegend.wordpress.com/2017/06/28/a-boys-life/
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By: wadholloway on June 28, 2017
at 10:47 pm
Well done, Bill, first cab off the rank and what an excellent choice too. Thank you!
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By: Lisa Hill on June 28, 2017
at 10:54 pm
[…] 2017 Indigenous Literature Week at ANZ LitLovers […]
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By: Jack Davis, Part II | theaustralianlegend on July 4, 2017
at 6:35 am
Part II of my look at WA poet and playwright Jack Davis https://theaustralianlegend.wordpress.com/2017/07/04/jack-davis-part-ii/
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By: wadholloway on July 4, 2017
at 6:41 am
[…] Ali Cobby Eckermann has featured a few times on this blog, including in my review of her verse novel, Ruby Moonlight, and my Monday Musings post on her winning the valuable Windham-Campbell Prize this year. She is now appearing again as I review her poetry collection, Inside my mother, for Lisa’s ANZlitLovers Indigenous Literature Week, 2017. […]
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By: Ali Cobby Eckermann, Inside my mother (#BookReview) | Whispering Gums on July 6, 2017
at 2:06 pm
Thank s for seeing my post and adding it here Lisa while I was in the skies or some airport somewhere!
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By: whisperinggums on July 6, 2017
at 7:53 pm
It’s good to know you landed safely. Have a good time:)
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By: Lisa Hill on July 6, 2017
at 8:44 pm
Thanks Lisa … check out my last photo on Facebook. That might give you an idea!
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By: whisperinggums on July 7, 2017
at 10:33 am
I’m not sure that I’ll be able to contribute anything more than a picture book review this week (I’m running out of time all round), but I’m glad to be able to participate.
http://astrongbeliefinwicker.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/welcome-to-country.html
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By: Louise on July 7, 2017
at 2:07 pm
But what a perfect contribution! I would have loved to have this book in my library when I was still teaching… like you I’ve seen many Welcomes to Country but would have loved to have had an Indigenous explanation of why it matters, and partly bilingual too. I’m going to check to see if my local library has this and request it if they haven’t. (From a conversation I had at the Parkdale branch, I know they are keen to increase their holdings, which is great). I’ll add this to the reviews page and to the master list. (Children’s books are in a separate section at the bottom of the page.)
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By: Lisa Hill on July 7, 2017
at 2:30 pm
I just posted a review of a collection of Indigenous writing from NT. The link is: https://roughghosts.com/2017/07/07/listening-to-indigenous-voices-part-1-australia-this-country-anytime-anywhere/
I should have a Canadian Indigenous review by week’s end (on my side of the planet)
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By: roughghosts on July 7, 2017
at 4:51 pm
Wonderful! Thanks Joe, I really appreciate this. The collection is a title I hadn’t heard of… *chuckle* there’s a delightful irony in having it brought to my attention by a Canadian visitor who’s seen more of the Red Centre than I have!
I’ll add the review link to this page and to the master list.
Thanks again:)
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By: Lisa Hill on July 7, 2017
at 5:03 pm
[…] 2017 Indigenous Literature Week at ANZ LitLovers […]
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By: The Swan Book, Alexis Wright | theaustralianlegend on July 8, 2017
at 6:29 am
I have read and reviewed the wonderful The Swan Book by Alexis Wright.
https://theaustralianlegend.wordpress.com/2017/07/08/the-swan-book/
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By: wadholloway on July 8, 2017
at 6:32 am
Thanks, Bill, a terrific review, (much better than mine!)
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By: Lisa Hill on July 8, 2017
at 7:08 pm
Happy to pitch in, and what a joy to discover such a great book.
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By: wadholloway on July 8, 2017
at 7:31 pm
Hi there. I’m loving watching the list of linked titles grow here. I’ve just reviewed Us Women, Our Ways, Our World here:
http://wordsandleaves.com/us-women-our-ways-our-world/
And here is something I prepared earlier, on Heat and Light:
http://wordsandleaves.com/queer-sex-plant-people/
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By: Weezelle on July 8, 2017
at 8:54 am
Hi Lisa, It’s still July 9 here and I posted my Canadian contribution here: https://roughghosts.com/2017/07/08/listening-to-indigenous-voices-part-2-canada-this-accident-of-being-lost-by-leanne-betasamosake-simpson/
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By: roughghosts on July 9, 2017
at 11:27 am
Thanks Joe, and I am so pleased to see that reading it was an inspiring experience for you:)
I’ve added it to the 2017 Reviews page and to the Master List, you’ll find it near the end of the page under the heading From Elsewhere Around the World.
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By: Lisa Hill on July 9, 2017
at 2:22 pm
[…] are eighteen new reviews of books by Indigenous authors on the 2017 Reviews page and they have all been added to the ANZ LitLovers Indigenous Reading List which is a permanent […]
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By: Wrap-up from Indigenous Literature Week 2017 | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on July 10, 2017
at 2:11 pm
Thank you for posting notice of my review of Burnum Burnum’s Aboriginal Australia – A Traveller’s Guide which can be read here:
https://mairineil.com/2017/07/11/a-travellers-guide-to-aboriginal-australia/
it was great to revisit this book again. You do an amazing job inspiring people to take part in this important week and encouraging people to move from our comfort zones of reading.
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By: mairineilcreative writer on July 11, 2017
at 2:08 pm
Hi Mairi, and welcome back after your travels, you are amazing to be contributing this excellent review, I’d still be lurching around with jet lag if it were me!
I can’t see myself ever joining the Grey Nomads on their caravan trips round Australia, but I’ve found a copy at Abe Books and (when they wake up over there) it will soon be on its way to me from – would you believe! – the UK:)
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By: Lisa Hill on July 11, 2017
at 2:15 pm
[…] was prompted to read this book as part of Lisa’s Indigenous Literature Week at ANZLitLovers. I’ve read several books by Tony Birch previously, one a novel Blood and the other, […]
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By: ‘The Promise’ by Tony Birch | The Resident Judge of Port Phillip on July 12, 2017
at 5:49 pm
Late as ever! I reviewed Tony Birch’s collection of short stories in ‘The Promise’
https://residentjudge.wordpress.com/2017/07/12/the-promise-by-tony-birch/
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By: residentjudge on July 12, 2017
at 5:56 pm
Not to worry, Janine, there’s no real deadline: I’ll add reviews to this page up to the end of July and to the master list any time at all. I’m delighted to have this review because no one else has reviewed this collection so far, and yay! I can add it to the Time Poor/Short Fictions post (http://bit.ly/2u7JAN7) which is an ongoing resource for next year and beyond.
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By: Lisa Hill on July 12, 2017
at 6:25 pm
i think Lisa has already found and added my review, but just to be sure I will add it here. I read “Departure”, by Kim Scott; “Our Hero, Our Brother”, by Liz Hayden in Review of Australian Fiction 15: 4. They have a wonderful program of publishing two reviews together, one by an established author and one who is lesser known. Check it out.
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By: mdbrady on July 13, 2017
at 2:34 am
Thanks, Marilyn, yes, I’ve added your review, and thanks again for participating:)
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By: Lisa Hill on July 13, 2017
at 10:35 am
[…] Ali Cobby Eckermann’s poetry collection, Inside my mother (my review) for Lisa’s ANZlitLovers Indigenous Literature Week, 2017, I decided to also read her 2012 memoir, Too afraid to cry. It filled in a lot of gaps, which is […]
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By: Ali Cobby Eckermann, Too afraid to cry (#BookReview) | Whispering Gums on July 27, 2017
at 8:34 am
[…] other participants, making eighteen new reviews altogether of books by Indigenous authors on the 2017 Reviews page and they were all added to the ANZ LitLovers Indigenous Reading List which is a permanent resource […]
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By: A Year in First Lines (2017) | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on December 10, 2017
at 12:00 am