Perth … About the launch of Alf Taylor's God, the Devil and Me

Abstract

Perth …About the launch of Alf Taylor's God, the Devil and Me Per Henningsgaard (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Centre for Stories is a literary arts and cultural organization with its office in Northbridge, an inner-city suburb of Perth perhaps best known as a nightlife hub and multicultural melting pot. Centre for Stories fits well in this environment since its focus is on empowering people whose experiences and perspectives are often marginalized. The organization feels young, hip, and diverse, and its office reflects this identity. The elegant Queen Anne home that served as the launching pad for Centre for Stories in 2015 has since been extensively renovated; it now includes an airy courtyard and a trendy cafe, Lulu Lala, overlooking the footpath. On February 25, 2021, it was a balmy summer evening, and the Centre for Stories courtyard was the venue for the launch of the Nyoongah writer Alf Taylor's memoir God, the Devil and Me. Contrary to the venue's overall vibe, Taylor is not young; he recently celebrated his seventy-fourth birthday. Furthermore, while Centre for Stories is no stranger to collaborating with Aboriginal writers, it is perhaps better known for its support of projects focused on the Indian Ocean, LGBTQIA+ stories, and migrant communities. And while Taylor lives in Perth, his book's publisher (Magabala Books, Australia's leading Indigenous publishing house since it was established in 1987) is located in the far northwest corner of Western Australia, in the small town of Broome, so its staff rarely has reason to rub elbows with staff from Centre for Stories. All of which means it could very well have felt like an uncomfortable fit—the wrong venue for the launch of this particular book by this particular author. It was, therefore, a pleasant surprise when Taylor's book launch ended up feeling like a wonderful family reunion. Taylor's [End Page 383] nephew greeted the crowd with a performance on the didgeridoo. Then, Taylor's brother, the well-known local activist and Nyoongah elder Ben Taylor, delivered the Welcome to Country. Children played on the ground and wandered through the audience as Kim Scott, a Nyoongah writer and two-time winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award, delivered a speech launching God, the Devil and Me into the world. Scott mentioned that Taylor had published three books prior to God, the Devil and Me: two books of poetry, Singer Songwriter (1992) and Winds (1994), as well as a collection of short stories, Long Time Now: Stories of the Dreamtime, the Here and Now (2001). It has, therefore, been two decades between books by Taylor. Scott remarked, "The book took twenty years to write because it hurt to go back there." This is undoubtedly true since God, the Devil and Me relates the story of Taylor being taken into the New Norcia Mission at a young age and being raised by the monks there, as his father had been before him. Despite the book's challenging content about Australia's Stolen Generations, when it came time for Taylor to read aloud from his memoir, he chose to highlight the humorous moments. He read from a scene in which he and a few other boys were looking at a magazine containing a photo of a woman in a bathing suit. He tore the photo from the magazine and shoved it into his front pants pocket. However, a nun witnessed his transgression: "[She] moved towards us and put her hand inside my pockets, grabbing this picture and my doodle at the same time and she tried to yank this picture out of my pocket still holding onto my doodle. She gave one hard pull and just about ripped my doodle off its mooring" (93). The crowd laughed uproariously, but this scene called to mind something Scott had said earlier: "Alf's a funny man, but he's a gutsy, courageous man, too." The night ended with Taylor signing books. The line to get a book signed was long because Taylor wanted to have a proper yarn with just about everyone, but no one seemed the least bit bothered by the wait. After all, it was...