Cirrus@Austlit

In this examination of the literature produced in Australia by Aboriginal writers, Shoemaker takes the 1975 World Council of Indigenous Peoples definition of The 'Fourth World' as a phrase to describe Indigenous minorities. Beginning with Kath Walker's We Are Going (1964), Shoemaker traces the beginnings of Aboriginal literary expression set against the changing political context of the 60s, 70s and 80s. He subsequently argues that contemporary Black Australian creative writers have already played a major role in articulating a sense of unity and defining Aboriginal identity.