Wonguri - Mandjigai Song : Song Cycle of the Moon-Bone poetry   Indigenous story   "The people are making a camp of branches in that country at Arnhem Bay:"
Alternative title: The Moon Bone
Issue Details: First known date: 1948... 1948 Wonguri - Mandjigai Song : Song Cycle of the Moon-Bone
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Notes

  • Song cycle comprising 13 parts.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: Song Cycle of the Moon-Bone
Notes:
Minor title variations appear in some texts

Works about this Work

The Story of the Moon-Bone Nicholas Jose , 2020 single work essay
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 65 no. 1 2020; (p. 22-57)

'I. 'Moon and Evening Star', Adelaide, October 2019/Yirrkala, June 2019

Among the glories of Tarnanthi, the Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia in 2019, one work has special significance for me. It is a painting made with earth pigment on stringybark by Buwathay Munyarryun called Wirrmu ga Djurrpun, 'Moon and Evening Star' (Figure 1). Powerfully vertical, 225 by 62 cm, on a piece of bark that flares slightly at each end, the composition speaks precisely and with authority. You can feel the care with which the brush has made its marks. Animals, human footprints and birds move up through the panels of downward flowing water on either side to a crowning horizontal band where crescent moon and star appear white against the black sky. ' (Introduction)

Fusion and Translation : Les Murray's Australia Ashok Bery , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: Cultural Translation and Postcolonial Poetry 2007; (p. 51-73)
Inner Landscapes are Sacred Landscapes Paul Kane , 2003 single work criticism
— Appears in: Kenyon Review , Summer vol. 25 no. 3/4 2003; (p. 207-223)
'Kane discusses the aegis of inner and outer landscapes of a retrospective exhibit of the work of Mark Rothko. His paintings in Guggenheim Museum were beginning to look like images of landscapes, with the horizon line defined by the junction between the two squares of color, one top of the other. On the other hand, the National Gallery's exhibit differs in the border and the strange flecks of white: the viewer was simultaneously outside the painting looking in, and inside looking beyond.' (Editor's abstract)
Dancing "on Bits of Paper" : Les Murray's Soundscapes Nils Eskestad , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , October vol. 20 no. 2 2001; (p. 64-75)
Considers language and metre in Murray's poetry, examining it in relation to Murray's concept of "Wholespeak" which requires poetry to "engage us physically, in addition to integrating our different levels of consciousness" (p.66). The influences of Hopkins's sprung rhythm, Gaelic sound patterns and Aboriginal poetry on Murray's work are also explored.
The Literary Perception, 1945-1961 Adam Shoemaker , 1989 single work criticism
— Appears in: Black Words, White Page : Aboriginal Literature 1929-1988 1989; (p. 79-101)
This chapter briefly surveys the major socio-political developments in Aboriginal affairs between 1961 and 1988. Though this period was one of success, and witnessed a growing self-confidence among Aboriginal Australians, it was also one of frustrated expectations and hopes, particularly in relation to land rights. The era saw the initiative for protest activity in Aboriginal affairs move from white dominated bodies to co-operative organisations and then to groups controlled administratively and sometimes financially by Black Australians. Shoemaker argues that there is a tendency for white readers to evaluate Aboriginal works solely according to Western literary standards which is an unreasonable expectation. While it is illuminating to compare Black Australian writing with those of certain white Australian authors, this provides only a partial understanding of Aboriginal works. An understanding of Aboriginal literature is only gained from analysing Aboriginal writing in its own right and seeing it as a discrete body of Fourth World literature in which striking themes and concerns emerge. The work of white writers such as Judith Wright, Patrick White, Randolph Stow, and Donald Stuart are examined.
Fusion and Translation : Les Murray's Australia Ashok Bery , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: Cultural Translation and Postcolonial Poetry 2007; (p. 51-73)
Inner Landscapes are Sacred Landscapes Paul Kane , 2003 single work criticism
— Appears in: Kenyon Review , Summer vol. 25 no. 3/4 2003; (p. 207-223)
'Kane discusses the aegis of inner and outer landscapes of a retrospective exhibit of the work of Mark Rothko. His paintings in Guggenheim Museum were beginning to look like images of landscapes, with the horizon line defined by the junction between the two squares of color, one top of the other. On the other hand, the National Gallery's exhibit differs in the border and the strange flecks of white: the viewer was simultaneously outside the painting looking in, and inside looking beyond.' (Editor's abstract)
And What About Forms? Chris Wallace-Crabbe , 1983 single work criticism
— Appears in: Three Absences in Australian Writing 1983; (p. 28-41)
The Literary Perception, 1945-1961 Adam Shoemaker , 1989 single work criticism
— Appears in: Black Words, White Page : Aboriginal Literature 1929-1988 1989; (p. 79-101)
This chapter briefly surveys the major socio-political developments in Aboriginal affairs between 1961 and 1988. Though this period was one of success, and witnessed a growing self-confidence among Aboriginal Australians, it was also one of frustrated expectations and hopes, particularly in relation to land rights. The era saw the initiative for protest activity in Aboriginal affairs move from white dominated bodies to co-operative organisations and then to groups controlled administratively and sometimes financially by Black Australians. Shoemaker argues that there is a tendency for white readers to evaluate Aboriginal works solely according to Western literary standards which is an unreasonable expectation. While it is illuminating to compare Black Australian writing with those of certain white Australian authors, this provides only a partial understanding of Aboriginal works. An understanding of Aboriginal literature is only gained from analysing Aboriginal writing in its own right and seeing it as a discrete body of Fourth World literature in which striking themes and concerns emerge. The work of white writers such as Judith Wright, Patrick White, Randolph Stow, and Donald Stuart are examined.
Dancing "on Bits of Paper" : Les Murray's Soundscapes Nils Eskestad , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , October vol. 20 no. 2 2001; (p. 64-75)
Considers language and metre in Murray's poetry, examining it in relation to Murray's concept of "Wholespeak" which requires poetry to "engage us physically, in addition to integrating our different levels of consciousness" (p.66). The influences of Hopkins's sprung rhythm, Gaelic sound patterns and Aboriginal poetry on Murray's work are also explored.
Last amended 16 Mar 2017 17:14:34
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