Cirrus@Austlit

'I first saw — though not met — Fiona in the early 1990s at a premier’s literary awards, when her book Cardboard received a prize. At the awards the minister for the arts, Peter Collins, announced that Fiona would not appear to fetch her prize given the sad fact that her mother had just died. However, someone whispered in his ear that Fiona indeed was there to receive her prize, and so she stepped up to the stage.'(Introduction)

'Portrait of the Artist's Mother is a memoir and an examination of the politics of disability. Fiona Place describes the pressure from medical institutions to undergo screening during pregnancy and assumptions that a child with Trisomy 21 should not live, even though people with Down syndrome do live rich lives. Fiona's son, Fraser, has become an artist. His prize-winning paintings have been exhibited in galleries in Sydney and Canberra. How does a mother get from the grieving silence of the birthing room through the horrified comments of other mothers to the applause at gallery openings? This is a story of commitment to the idea that all people, including those who are 'less than perfect', have a right to be welcomed into this increasingly imperfect world.'   (Publication summary)