I am interested in how writers from the dominant culture include or exclude characters whose lives are often on the margins. Loss, trauma and alienation circle against the backdrop of heavy bush. In this isolated setting, the only other humans are an indigenous family who live on the same land. This Gothic-style story centres on white teenage twins, one of whom has Down syndrome, who are left with a granddad they've never met. I've just finished Sarah Kanake's Sing Fox to Me (Affirm Press) set on a mountain in rural Tasmania. I love encountering the work by writers I recognise from Writers Practice workshops. In between, there are poems and essays from new and familiar voices. There is a really eclectic range of stories and forms, from Victor Rodger's play, Night Fill, a humorous and insightful story about race and privilege in a supermarket, to Amber Moffat's short story, Inside Play, about a single parent and an unusual form of weight loss – the imagery of which is so visceral, it makes me feel squeamish just thinking about it. It reminds me of a central theme of Witi's Wāhine, a play by Nanny Brunning that re-centres the wāhine in Witi's stories, who are often cast in secondary roles on screen.Īt my bedside, I have the latest issue of Landfall (241), which I dip in and out of before I go to sleep. The version retold by Hiawyn Oram gives the lead to Lucy, the youngest girl, whereas the book based on the movie, casts Peter, the oldest boy, as the saviour. We are reading two adaptations and I am fascinated by the different ways the story has been told. My almost 5-year-old has, surprisingly to me, fallen in love with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This is the first book that really captured my now 23-month-old's attention and at more than 100 pages, it's a substantial length for a toddler. Our recent faves are The Noisy Book (Gecko Press). I have two children under 5, so my current reading pile includes lots of picture books.
0 kommentar(er)
