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Issue Details: First known date: 2013... 2013 A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Australian Aboriginal literature, once relegated to the margins of Australian literary studies, now receives both national and international attention. Not only has the number of published texts by contemporary Australian Aboriginals risen sharply, but scholars and publishers have also recently begun recovering earlier published and unpublished Indigenous works. Writing by Australian Aboriginals is making a decisive impression in fiction, autobiography, biography, poetry, film, drama, and music, and has recently been anthologized in Oceana and North America. Until now, however, there has been no comprehensive critical companion that contextualizes the Aboriginal canon for scholars, researchers, students, and general readers. This international collection of eleven original essays fills this gap by discussing crucial aspects of Australian Aboriginal literature and tracing the development of Aboriginal literacy from the oral tradition up until today, contextualizing the work of Aboriginal artists and writers and exploring aspects of Aboriginal life writing such as obstacles toward publishing, questions of editorial control (or the lack thereof), intergenerational and interracial collaborations combining oral history and life writing, and the pros and cons of translation into European languages. ' (Publication summary))

Contents

* Contents derived from the Rochester, New York (State),
c
United States of America (USA),
c
Americas,
:
Camden House , 2013 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Indigenous Life Writing : Rethinking Poetics and Practice, Michael R. Griffiths , single work criticism

Aboriginal life writing... 'is a syncretic practice: bound to postcolonial structure of mourning and trauma which while also deeply engaged with tradition and its restoration.' In this essay, the author offers a brief and partial survey of the bounds of life writing, and frames his approach to life writing.

(p. 15-33)
Australian Aboriginal Life Writers and their Editors: Cross-Cultural Collaboration, Authorial Intention, and the Impact of Editorial Choices, Jennifer Jones , single work criticism

In this essay, the authors 'examines the cross-cultural collaborations between editors and foundational Aboriginal writers in the social context of the protection, assimilation, and dawning self-determination eras.' (Introduction)

(p. 35-52)
Contemporary Life Writing : Inscribing Double Voice in Intergenerational Collaborative Life-writing Projects, Martina Horáková , single work criticism

The author examines an narratological approach used in double-voiced narratives in which present two equally authoritative narrative voices. To exemplify aspects of the structure of 'double-voice', and its narrative complexity the author examines the life writing of Rita and Jackie Huggins biographical account Auntie Rita.

(p. 53-69)
European Translations of Australian Aboriginal Texts, Danica Cerce , Oliver Haag , single work criticism

'Though the number of translated works written by Australian Aboriginals reflects the increasing interest in their culture, the way these books are translated and marketed often distorts the author's original intentions and distorts how Australian Aboriginals are perceived by many European communities.' In this essay the authors focus on Sally Morgan's My Place and Doris Pilkington's Rabbit Proof Fence to illustrate how European translations have misrepresented the original text for the purpose of adapting translated text to their targeted audience's culture.

(p. 71-88)
Tracing a Trajectory from Songpoetry to Contemporary Aboriginal Poetry, Stuart Cooke , single work criticism

In this essay the author concentrates on three Aboriginal poetics, to trace a trajectory between the avant-garde of contemporary Aboriginal poetry and the poetics of Aboriginal song-poetry.

(p. 89-106)
Rites/Rights/Writes of Passage : Identity Construction in Australian Aboriginal Young Adult Fiction, Jeanine Leane , single work criticism

The author focuses on the writings of three major young adult ficton writers, John Muk Muk Burke, Melissa Lucashenko, and Tara June Winch, which represent a genre in Aboriginal writing that traces a main character's journey from adolescence to adulthood. Further, the author pays particular attention to 'identity construction, belonging, and the search for a sense of place for the yound Aboriginal protagonists in late twentieth- and early twenty-first century Australia.' (Source: Introduction)

(p. 107-123)
Humor in Contemporary Aboriginal Adult Fiction, Paula Anca Farca , single work criticism

In this chapter the author explores the creation of humor in recent publications by Aboriginal authors who address issues of social injustice and racism.

(p. 125-138)
White shadows: The Gothic Tradition in Australian Aboriginal Literature, Katrin Althans , single work criticism

In this chapter, the author argues '...to appreciate the many shapes of the Gothic in Aboriginal literature takes, it is necessary to consider the discursive peculiarities of the Gothic and to rewind to the eighteenth century before fast-forwarding to contemporary Aboriginal literature.' (Introduction)

(p. 139-154)
Bold, Black, and Brilliant: Aboriginal Australian Drama, Maryrose Casey , single work criticism (p. 155-171)
The 'Stolen Generations' in Feature Film: The Approach of Aboriginal Director Rachel Perkins and Others, Theodore F. Sheckels , single work criticism

In this essay the author attempts 'to account for the appearance of Aboriginals behind the camera beginning in the late 1980s.' (Introduction)

(p. 173-185)
A History of Popular Indigenous Music, Andrew King , single work criticism

Throughout the history of diverse sounds and voices, 'different Indigenous artists have negotiated changing degrees of non-Indigenous criticism, patronage, and recognition'. This chapter attempts to capture these social and cultural changes in the history of popular Indigenous music. (Introduction)

(p. 187-201)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Rochester, New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Camden House ,
      2013 .
      image of person or book cover 6686475225224510283.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 1 v.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 01 August 2013
      • Includes bibliography
      ISBN: 9781571135216

Works about this Work

Belinda Wheeler, Editor. A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature Anne Le Guellec-Minel , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: Ariel , January vol. 49 no. 1 2018; (p. 155-157)

'In the last two decades, several notable anthologies and important critical studies of Aboriginal literature have been published. Yet A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature, the collection of essays edited by Belinda Wheeler, is the first book to offer a comprehensive study of what Wheeler's introduction presents as a still emerging canon. A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature acknowledges that accessibility to material produced by Aboriginal authors remains, for historical reasons of social and cultural marginalisation, limited. It is important to note that "literature" in the context of the collection's title must not be understood conventionally, in the sense of written works of art, but in a broader sense that includes a whole range of oral, visual, musical, and performative forms of expression. As writer and scholar Nicolas Jose puts it in the foreword to the volume, "Aboriginal literature has its own traditions, modes, and rhetoric," and as such should be "respected and valued on its own terms" (viii). At the same time, he insists that Aboriginal literature's capacity to "cross boundaries" and "share its making communally" (viii) enables it to reach out to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences around the world and encourage a more generous form of cultural dialogue. Jose and Wheeler both highlight the political commitment that is almost always involved in the production of Aboriginal literature. As the collection's essays show, Aboriginal art bears witness to the violence inflicted upon the Indigenous peoples of Australia since the beginning of colonisation (unlawful killings, land-theft, economic and sexual abuse, the forced removal of children, discrimination and neglect), but it also expresses Aboriginal resilience, creativity, and the refusal to conform to stereotypical definitions of "black" indigeneity.' (Introduction)

[Review] A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature by Belinda Wheeler Jean-François Vernay , 2017 single work review
— Appears in: Ab-Original , vol. 1 no. 1 2017; (p. 148-150)

— Review of A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature 2013 selected work criticism
[Review] A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature Jess Coyle , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 16 no. 1 2016;

— Review of A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature 2013 selected work criticism
Belinda Wheeler, Ed. : A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature Kerstin Knoph , 2016 single work essay
— Appears in: Zeitschrift Für Australienstudien , no. 30 2016; (p. 126-132)

'This book is a valuable asset to every library focusing on Indigenous Studies in general and Australian Aboriginal Studies in particular. It offers a comprehensive overview of Australian Aboriginal literature from its beginnings in print up to the present with a focus on a variety of topics and genres, including life writing, songpoetry, (young) adult fiction, gothic texts, drama, film and popular music. The book itself is aesthetically very enjoyable, with a beautiful painting on the cover mixing different Aboriginal artistic styles (it would have been nice to get information on the artist and title), a superb (copy)editing, a pleasant font, and general handling. The editor provides a very helpful twelve page-chronology of Australian Aboriginal history and a ten-page index.' (Introduction)

[Review] A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature Jess Coyle , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 16 no. 1 2016;

— Review of A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature 2013 selected work criticism
[Review] A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature by Belinda Wheeler Jean-François Vernay , 2017 single work review
— Appears in: Ab-Original , vol. 1 no. 1 2017; (p. 148-150)

— Review of A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature 2013 selected work criticism
Belinda Wheeler, Ed. : A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature Kerstin Knoph , 2016 single work essay
— Appears in: Zeitschrift Für Australienstudien , no. 30 2016; (p. 126-132)

'This book is a valuable asset to every library focusing on Indigenous Studies in general and Australian Aboriginal Studies in particular. It offers a comprehensive overview of Australian Aboriginal literature from its beginnings in print up to the present with a focus on a variety of topics and genres, including life writing, songpoetry, (young) adult fiction, gothic texts, drama, film and popular music. The book itself is aesthetically very enjoyable, with a beautiful painting on the cover mixing different Aboriginal artistic styles (it would have been nice to get information on the artist and title), a superb (copy)editing, a pleasant font, and general handling. The editor provides a very helpful twelve page-chronology of Australian Aboriginal history and a ten-page index.' (Introduction)

Belinda Wheeler, Editor. A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature Anne Le Guellec-Minel , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: Ariel , January vol. 49 no. 1 2018; (p. 155-157)

'In the last two decades, several notable anthologies and important critical studies of Aboriginal literature have been published. Yet A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature, the collection of essays edited by Belinda Wheeler, is the first book to offer a comprehensive study of what Wheeler's introduction presents as a still emerging canon. A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature acknowledges that accessibility to material produced by Aboriginal authors remains, for historical reasons of social and cultural marginalisation, limited. It is important to note that "literature" in the context of the collection's title must not be understood conventionally, in the sense of written works of art, but in a broader sense that includes a whole range of oral, visual, musical, and performative forms of expression. As writer and scholar Nicolas Jose puts it in the foreword to the volume, "Aboriginal literature has its own traditions, modes, and rhetoric," and as such should be "respected and valued on its own terms" (viii). At the same time, he insists that Aboriginal literature's capacity to "cross boundaries" and "share its making communally" (viii) enables it to reach out to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences around the world and encourage a more generous form of cultural dialogue. Jose and Wheeler both highlight the political commitment that is almost always involved in the production of Aboriginal literature. As the collection's essays show, Aboriginal art bears witness to the violence inflicted upon the Indigenous peoples of Australia since the beginning of colonisation (unlawful killings, land-theft, economic and sexual abuse, the forced removal of children, discrimination and neglect), but it also expresses Aboriginal resilience, creativity, and the refusal to conform to stereotypical definitions of "black" indigeneity.' (Introduction)

Last amended 25 Jan 2018 14:08:08
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