image of person or book cover 513526730016020566.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon We Come With This Place multi chapter work   essay   prose   Indigenous story  
Issue Details: First known date: 2022... 2022 We Come With This Place
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A deeply personal, profound tribute to family and the Gudanji Country to which Debra Dank belongs.

'We Come with This Place is a remarkable book, as rich, varied and surprising as the vast landscape in which it is set. Debra Dank has created an extraordinary mosaic of vivid episodes that move about in time and place to tell an unforgettable story of country and people.

'There is great pain in these pages, and anger at injustice, but also great love, in marriage and in family, and for the land. Dank faces head on the ingrained racism, born of brutal practice and harsh legislation, that lies always under the skin of Australia, the racism that calls a little Aboriginal girl names and beats and rapes and disenfranchises the generations before hers. She describes sudden terrible violence, between races and sometimes at home. But overwhelmingly this is a book about strong, beloved parents and grandparents, guiding and teaching their children and grandchildren what country means, about joyful gatherings and the pleasures of eating food provided by the place that nourishes them, both spiritually and physically.

'Dank calibrates human emotions with honesty and insight, and there is plenty of dry, down-to-earth humour. You can feel and smell and see the puffs of dust under moving feet, the ever-present burning heat, the bright exuberance of a night-time campfire, the emerald flash of a flock of budgerigars, the journeying wind, the harshness of a station shanty, the welcome scent of fresh water.

'We Come with This Place is deeply personal, a profound tribute to family and the Gudanji Country to which Debra Dank belongs, but it is much more than that. Here is Australia as it has been for countless generations, land and people in effortless balance, and Australia as it became, but also Australia as it could and should be.'  (Publication summary)

Notes

  •  Selected as one of the Guardian Australia best Australian books of 2022

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Richmond, East Melbourne - Richmond area, Melbourne, Victoria,: Echo Publishing , 2022 .
      image of person or book cover 513526730016020566.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 251p.
      Note/s:
      • Published July 2022
      ISBN: 9781760687397

Works about this Work

Past-­making within the Present : Speaking the Voice of Community Carody Culver (interviewer), 2024 single work interview
— Appears in: Griffith Review , 7th May no. 84 2024;

'Debra Dank wasn’t planning to write a book. But in 2022, her PhD in narrative theory and semiotics was published as We Come with This Place, a lyrical and richly evocative account of Country, family and ancestors. What began as an academic project – one that Dank imagined only her children would read – went on to captivate audiences across the nation and collect a slew of top literary prizes.

'It’s easy to see why. Dank is a Gudanji/Wakaja woman, an experienced educator, a partner, a mother and a grandmother – and while all these life experiences are present in her book, its narrative threads stretch much further. We Come with This Place weaves together a multiplicity of voices, entities and stories, all of which reflect the collectivism of Aboriginal culture. In this interview, which has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity, Dank talks to Griffith Review Editor Carody Culver about the strength of community, the solace of stories and the ever-­present salience of the past.'  (Introduction)

y separately published work icon #1 Nonfiction of 2023 : Debra Dank on Writing Memoir Astrid Edwards (interviewer), 2024 27358559 2024 single work podcast interview

'Debra Dank is a Gudanji/Wakaja writer and educator. Her 2023 memoir We Come With This Place - a book she never intended to publish - won the ALS Gold Medal and four NSW Premier's Awards, and was also listed for many other prizes.

'An educator, she has worked in teaching and learning for many years – a gift given through the hard work of her parents. She continues to experience the privilege of living with country and with family. Debra completed her PhD in Narrative Theory and Semiotics at Deakin University in 2021.'

What Country Means to Me Victoria Grieve-Williams , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 28-29 July 2023; (p. 17)

— Review of We Come With This Place Debra Dank , 2022 multi chapter work essay prose
Debra Dank : We Come with This Place Tony Birch , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 22-28 July 2023;

— Review of We Come With This Place Debra Dank , 2022 multi chapter work essay prose
Indigenous Author Debra Dank Sweeps NSW Premier’s Literary Awards with Memoir We Come With This Place Dee Jefferson , 2023 single work column
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , May 2023;

'Gudanji and Wakaja woman Debra Dank has won a record four out of 14 NSW Premier's Literary Awards for her memoir of family, community and Country, We Come With This Place — including the top gong, Book of the Year.' 

Witty, Poetic, Beautifully Written : The Best Australian Books Out in July Sian Cain , Lucy Clark , Michael Sun , Alyx Gorman , Steph Harmon , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 4 July 2022;

— Review of We Come With This Place Debra Dank , 2022 multi chapter work essay prose ; Denizen James McKenzie Watson , 2022 single work novel ; The All of It : A Bogan Rhapsody Cadance Bell , 2022 single work autobiography ; Jesustown Paul Daley , 2021 single work novel ; Holy Woman : A Divine Adventure Louise Omer , 2022 single work autobiography
We Come With This Place by Debra Dank Review – A Jewel to Rival Australia’s Great Desert Memoirs Tara June Winch , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 29 July 2022;

— Review of We Come With This Place Debra Dank , 2022 multi chapter work essay prose
'Beauty and pain intertwine as Dank deftly weaves the story of her family, ancestors and country' 
Debra Dank : We Come with This Place Tony Birch , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 22-28 July 2023;

— Review of We Come With This Place Debra Dank , 2022 multi chapter work essay prose
What Country Means to Me Victoria Grieve-Williams , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 28-29 July 2023; (p. 17)

— Review of We Come With This Place Debra Dank , 2022 multi chapter work essay prose
The 'Accidental' Author with Feeling for Country Rudi Maxwell , 2022 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 27 July no. 781 2022; (p. 56)
'Debra Dank loves stories. And she loves Country. Her new book We Come With This Place combines those loves.
Stella Prize Shortlist 2023 : Your Guide to 6 Gripping, Courageous Books Julieanne Lamond , 2023 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 26 April 2023;
y separately published work icon Debra Dank for The Stella Shortlist Astrid Edwards (interviewer), 2023 26204575 2023 single work podcast interview

'Debra Dank is a Gudanji/Wakaja woman. Her memoir We Come With This Place is shortlisted for the Stella Prize in 2023. An educator, she has worked in teaching and learning for many years – a gift given through the hard work of her parents. She continues to experience the privilege of living with country and with family. Debra completed her PhD in Narrative Theory and Semiotics at Deakin University in 2021. Read the transcript for this interview here.'

Debut Author Debra Dank Breaks Records at NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Steve Dow , 2023 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 22 May 2023;
Indigenous Author Debra Dank Sweeps NSW Premier’s Literary Awards with Memoir We Come With This Place Dee Jefferson , 2023 single work column
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , May 2023;

'Gudanji and Wakaja woman Debra Dank has won a record four out of 14 NSW Premier's Literary Awards for her memoir of family, community and Country, We Come With This Place — including the top gong, Book of the Year.' 

Last amended 3 Jan 2023 07:06:06
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