Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature by Anita Heiss, Peter Minter

Abstract

I > ^ I ^ I I H I I are "highly regarded for their work in themedium" while exhibiting a "strong historical knowledge that could guide them when choosing work fortheexhibition." The commentary that introduc es each artist or work is excerpted by Grenville from interviews with his co-curators. This conversational approach reinforces the informal nature of the presentation, but the contrasts in language utilized by each presenter provide insights into the influencesand specificitiesof the medium for which they are known. Whereas comics critics/practitioners Art Spiegelman and Seth employ highly specialized terms in theirdis cussions ("What appears to be extra neous linework or brushwork has a visual, directional quality that leads you through each page"), video game designer Will Wright's obser vations on landmark video game art never stray far from the tactile experience of actually playing the game. Remarking on the simplic ity of Pac-Man's technical design, Wright astutely notes that "players learned that the joystickmoves the character; it soon becomes so instinc tive that the player is no longer aware that his or her hand is control ling the game." Each media considered could (and in many cases, already has) warrant more nuanced explorations of theirindividual charms, so thereis littledoubt that scholars of any one of these fieldswill find some aspect of the selection process or resulting work under examination to be lack ing or incomplete. The cumulative impact ofKrazyl's disparate sources make a compelling argument for edi tor/curator Bruce Grenville's vision of a broader survey of these young and, in some cases, "outsider" art forms. The result, at least in print, is a vivid testament to the efficacy of that approach and leaves the reader eager toexplore aspects of each topic ingreater depth. Rob Vollmar Norman, Oklahoma Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature. Anita Heiss & Peter Minter, eds. Crows Nest, NSW. Allen & Unwin /Macquarie University. 2008. xviii + 260 pages. au$39.95. isbn 978-1-74175-498-4 The Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature is a ground breaking collection of literary, cul tural, and historical importance. It is the firstof its kind, covering over two centuries of Australian Aboriginal writing. It opens with the first known text written inEng lish by an indigenous Australian (1796), a letterfromaWangal leader called Bennelong inquiring after the well-being of his sponsor, who has returned toBritain.Like many of the early textsin thisanthology?letters, petitions, political documents?the writing isunexpectedly compelling: Bennelong's letterreads like a short story. That the lyricism of his bro ken English is accidental does not detract from the literary merit of the prose: "I hope Mrs. Phillip verywell. You nurse me Madam when I sick. You very good Madam: thank you Madam, & hope you rememberme Madam, not forget.Iknow you very well Madam. Madam I want stock ings.Thank youMadam/7 Reading through theanthology, we witness the transformation of indigenous Australia. Eighty-one authors from different aboriginal backgrounds express their experi ence in fictional and nonfictional prose, poetry, and excerpts from plays. The editors of the anthol ogy, Anita Heiss and PeterMinter, ^^^H have made a point of presenting ^^^H only literature written inEnglish, as ^^^H opposed toworks inAboriginal lan- ^^^H guages gathered and translated by ^^^H anthropologists. But theAboriginal ^^^H linguistic influence remains strong. ^^^H Much of thewriting is infusedwith ^^^H Aboriginal rhythms and original ^^^H ways of saying things. Some of the texts are even written in a vibrant ^^^H AboriginalEnglishpidgin. In his ^^^H play No Sugar, Jack Davis (1917 2000), one of theforemost Aboriginal ^^^H poets and playwrights, uses a pidgin ^^^H from theMoore River Settlement to ^^^H powerful poetic effect.A character ^^^H recounts the murderous injustices ^^^H of Gudeeah (whitemen): "Gudeeah ^^^H bin kiU'em. Finish, kill'em. Bigmob, ^^^H Fromthe invigorating chantlikepoems ofOodgeroo Noonuccal to David Unaipon's detailed studyof Aboriginal culture . . . this anthology presents a panorama of indigenous Australia's most powerful voices. llllllilliillillllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM 78 1 WorldLiterature Today ^^^^H 1926, kill'em big mob my country." A central theme in theplay, and of much of thewriting in the anthol ogy, is the loss of language and awareness of traditional culture. Another remarkable piece, among many, is "The Boomerang Racket," by JoeTimbery (1912-78), a poet...