Cirrus@Austlit

'Australia is a land of fire. Fire has shaped its landscapes and played a role in the evolution of its plants and animals. Aboriginal people have always made and managed fire, in the domestic hearth and as an aid to hunting.

'This is both a book of art and a first-hand account of desert people's understanding and use of fire in inland Australia.

'The author, a renowned artist from the Great Sandy desert, shows, through his minimalist drawings and compact, vivid descriptions, how desert people make fire and when and why they burn.' (publishers' note)

'The third book in the Yinti series of three books. The stories are linked in a sequence that shows Yinti’s development from a young bushie to a competent station worker and adult. Desert Cowboy is the story of Yinti’s return to the cattle station and of his life as a stockman. Over these years Yinti experiences joy, excitement, loss and tragedy, but never loses his sense of fun and inclination to mischief. All of the stories are based on actual people and events as told to Pat Lowe by Jimmy Pike and other members of his family.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Jimmy and Pat Meet the Queen is a fantasy about Native Title, in which Jimmy, a traditional owner of land in the Great Sandy Desert, challenges the Queen to visit his camp and prove to him that she is the rightful owner of this so-called ‘vacant Crown land’. Her Majesty accepts the invitation, and soon learns what it really means to be a landowner in the Australian desert. A light-hearted look at a serious subject, suitable for readers of all ages.' 

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The second book in the Yinti series of three books. The stories are linked in a sequence that shows Yinti’s development from a young bushie to a competent station worker and adult. When the dingo, Spinifex, is taken from her mother, she expects to be killed. Instead she is adopted and becomes a prized hunting dog. She eventually accompanies her human family, including Yinti, on their journey through the Great Sandy Desert. When Yinti leaves the desert, Spinifex goes with him. Based on stories, told to Pat Lowe by Jimmy Pike, about a dog who lived with his family in the desert during the 1940s and early 1950s.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The first draft of this book was written under a tree on the slope of a sandhill where for several years, English woman Pat Lowe shared a desert camp with her lifetime partner, Walmajarri man Jimmy Pike. Their camp faced south into the Great Sandy Desert where Jimmy was born. While spending time in the red heart of country that had been home to the Walmajarri people for thousands of years, they recorded Pike's stories through his painting and Lowe's writing.' Source: Publisher's blurb

'This is the first collection to span the diverse range of Black Australian writings. Thirty-six Aboriginal and Islander authors have contributed, including David Unaipon, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Gerry Bostock, Ruby Langford, Robert Bropho, Jack Davis, Hyllus Maris, William Ferguson, Sally Morgan, Mudrooroo Narogin and Archie Weller. Many more are represented through community writings such as petitions and letters.

Collected over six years from all the states and territories of Australia, Paperbark ranges widely across time and genre from the 1840s to the present, from transcriptions of oral literature to rock opera. Prose, poetry, song, drama and polemic are accompanied by the selected artworks of Jimmy Pike, and an extensive, up-to-date bibliography.The voices of Black Australia speak with passion and power in this challenging and important anthology.' Source: Publisher's blurb.