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Cover image courtesy the Author.
y separately published work icon Who Am I? : The Diary of Mary Talence : Sydney, 1937 single work   children's fiction   children's   historical fiction  
Alternative title: Diary of Mary Talence
Issue Details: First known date: 2001... 2001 Who Am I? : The Diary of Mary Talence : Sydney, 1937
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Mary was taken to Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home when she was only five years old. Now she's ten years old and living with a white family in Sydney. She doesn't fit in and starts to question why. We live Mary's emotional, psychological and physical journey through her twelve months of diary entries, explaining the collective story of the those members of the Stolen Generation removed under policies of Protection in NSW. The diary format helps to transport readers back through time to 1938 and the lead up to the Sesquintennary and the Day of Mourning Conference and protest in Sydney. Source: Anita Heiss.

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Notes

  • A novel in diary form.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: El Diario de Mary Talence
Language: Spanish
    • Barcelona,
      c
      Spain,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Takusan Ediciones ,       2005 .
      image of person or book cover 3265492476300644999.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 200p.
      ISBN: 8460943798
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Works about this Work

Genre, History, and the Stolen Generations : Three Australian Stories Melanie Duckworth , 2020 single work criticism
— Appears in: International Research in Children’s Literature , December vol. 13 no. 2 2020; (p. 259-273)

'This article explores the role that genre plays in fictional depictions of the Stolen Generations (Australian Indigenous children removed from their homes) in three twenty-first-century Australian middle-grade novels: Who Am I?: The Diary of Mary Talence, Sydney 1937 by Anita Heiss (2001); The Poppy Stories: Four Books in One by Gabrielle Wang (2016); and Sister Heart by Sally Morgan (2016). It argues that the genres of fictional diary, adventure story and verse novel invite different reading practices and approaches to history, and shape the ways in which the texts depict, for children, the suffering and resilience of the Stolen Generations.' (Publication abstract)
The Indigenous Australian Novel Peter Minter , Belinda Wheeler , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Oxford History of the Novel in English : The Novel in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the South Pacific Since 1950 2017; (p. 284-299)

'Emerging in the second half of the twentieth century from the traditions of the oldest living cultures on earth - the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia - the Indigenous Australian novel makes a unique contribution to the history of the novel in its contemporary phase...' (Introduction) 
Serious Issues for Young Readers BlackWords : Serious Issues for Young Readers Anita Heiss , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: The BlackWords Essays 2015; (p. 8) The BlackWords Essays 2019;

In this essay Heiss discusses Indigenous-authored works that are targeted for upper-primary and young adult readers, that address issues of identity, self esteem, relationships and peer-group pressure that are available for both educators and students. Heiss recommends that these works discussed in this essay, will not only engage young Indigenous students, but also non-Indigenous students and other readers with a sense of sameness in terms of coming of age, facing friendships, and the growing pains that all teenagers face.
Our Truths - Aboriginal Writers and the Stolen Generations BlackWords : Our Truths - Aboriginal Writers and the Stolen Generations Anita Heiss , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: The BlackWords Essays 2015; (p. 4) The BlackWords Essays 2019;

In this essay Heiss demonstrates that stories, poetry, songs, plays and memoirs are 'living' evidence of truths otherwise untold or appropriated (Source: Introduction)
Passions and Illusions : Anita Heiss's Stories Michael Connor , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Quadrant , June vol. 56 no. 6 2012; (p. 32-35)
A Respectful and Sensitive Fiction Terri Janke , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 62 no. 2 2002; (p. 182-184)
— Review of Who Am I? : The Diary of Mary Talence : Sydney, 1937 Anita Heiss , 2001 single work children's fiction
Untitled Jenny Charlton , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 24 no. 4 2010; (p. 53-54)
— Review of Who Am I? : The Diary of Mary Talence : Sydney, 1937 Anita Heiss , 2001 single work children's fiction
Child's View of History Jenny Pausacker , 2001 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24-25 November 2001; (p. 11)
— Review of Who Am I? : The Diary of Mary Talence : Sydney, 1937 Anita Heiss , 2001 single work children's fiction ; Market Blues Kirsty Murray , 2001 single work children's fiction ; Papunya School Book of Country and History Papunya School Publishing Committee , Nadia Wheatley , 2001 single work information book ; Ramose : Prince in Exile Carole Wilkinson , 2001 single work children's fiction
Welcome History Judith Ridge , 2001-2002 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January no. 237 2001-2002; (p. 78-79)
— Review of Who Am I? : The Diary of Mary Talence : Sydney, 1937 Anita Heiss , 2001 single work children's fiction ; That Dolphin Thing Ian Bone , 2001 single work novel ; Find Me a River Bronwyn Blake , 2001 single work novel
Untitled Jenny Evans , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 16 no. 1 2002; (p. 39)
— Review of Who Am I? : The Diary of Mary Talence : Sydney, 1937 Anita Heiss , 2001 single work children's fiction
Cultural Explorations of Time and Space : Indigenous Australian Artists-in Residence, Conventional Narratives and Children's Text Creation Margaret Zeegers , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 16 no. 2 2006; (p. 138-144) Zeegers is concerned with a project funded by the University of Ballarat (Victoria) and the current state of affairs whereby 'the land occupied by the school is owned by the state and notionally by the school community' (138). For Zeegers, the school community often has '...no sense of how relationships with the land may go well beyond concepts of ownership' and she perceives problems with acknowledging traditional land ownership by certain schools in certain environments.(p.138). At the time of writing, the article refers to a specific project (yet to be concluded) and aims to contribute to the project by looking at two Indigenous texts, My Place (Wheatley) and Who am I ? The Diary of Mary Talence (Heiss) analysing what perspectives they offer child readers as a 'means of access to other discourses of history' (p.142). Zeegers contends that 'the project enables both Indigenous and Non-indigenous Australian children to engage with non print based texts derived from a cultural tradition that is different from the Euro cultural tradition' (143).
Untitled Anita Heiss , 2010 single work column
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , March vol. 89 no. 6 2010; (p. 18) Anita Heiss relates the story of her children's novel Who Am I?: The Diary of Mary Talence : Sydney, 1937 being published, in Farsi translation, in Iran without her knowledge or assent.
Passions and Illusions : Anita Heiss's Stories Michael Connor , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Quadrant , June vol. 56 no. 6 2012; (p. 32-35)
Serious Issues for Young Readers BlackWords : Serious Issues for Young Readers Anita Heiss , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: The BlackWords Essays 2015; (p. 8) The BlackWords Essays 2019;

In this essay Heiss discusses Indigenous-authored works that are targeted for upper-primary and young adult readers, that address issues of identity, self esteem, relationships and peer-group pressure that are available for both educators and students. Heiss recommends that these works discussed in this essay, will not only engage young Indigenous students, but also non-Indigenous students and other readers with a sense of sameness in terms of coming of age, facing friendships, and the growing pains that all teenagers face.
Our Truths - Aboriginal Writers and the Stolen Generations BlackWords : Our Truths - Aboriginal Writers and the Stolen Generations Anita Heiss , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: The BlackWords Essays 2015; (p. 4) The BlackWords Essays 2019;

In this essay Heiss demonstrates that stories, poetry, songs, plays and memoirs are 'living' evidence of truths otherwise untold or appropriated (Source: Introduction)
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Last amended 23 Sep 2021 15:01:52
Subjects:
  • 1937-1938
Settings:
  • St Ives, Turramurra - Pymble - St Ives area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,
  • Bomaderry, Nowra area, Shoalhaven area, South Coast, New South Wales,
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