The Unhappy Race : The Myall Speaks single work   poetry   "White fellow, you are the unhappy race."
Issue Details: First known date: 1964... 1964 The Unhappy Race : The Myall Speaks
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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: La razza infelice : Il Myall parla
First line of verse: "White fellow, you are the unhappy race=Compagno bianco, tu sei della razza infelice."
Language: English , Italian
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Oodgeroo Noonuccal con We Are Going Francesca Di Blasio , Margherita Zanoletti , Trento : Università degli studi di Trento, Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia , 2013 8187749 2013 selected work criticism poetry

    Il presente volume rappresenta il primo contributo critico italiano interamente incentrato sulla figura della grande poetessa australiana Oodgeroo Noonuccal. Libro ibrido e strutturalmente composito, esso ospita la prima versione italiana integrale della raccolta poetica d’esordio di Oodgeroo (all’epoca Kath Walker), We Are Going (1964).

    The volume aims to introduce to the Italian audience the seminal work of the Indigenous poet Oodgeroo of the tribe Noonuccal, and contains the first Italian translation of her first collection of poetry, We Are Going (1964). [from 'Encountering Australia: Transcultural Conversations' conference program, European Association for Studies of Australia (EASA), 24-26 September 2014, Monash Prato Centre, Prato Italy]

    Trento : Università degli studi di Trento, Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia , 2013
    pg. 230-231
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon My People : A Kath Walker Collection Kath Walker , Milton : Jacaranda Press , 1970 Z1325109 1970 selected work poetry essay

    'Oodgeroo's writing is often a provocative and passionate plea for justice. My People is a collection of poetry and prose and a reminder of Oodgeroo's contribution to indigenous culture and the journey to reconciliation.' (Source: Reading Australia website)

    My People. La mia gente
    Milan : Mimesis , 2022
    pg. 138-139

Works about this Work

'Why, White Man, Why?' : White Australia as the Addressee of Apostrophe in Contemporary Aboriginal Writing Russell West-Pavlov , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Zeitschrift fur Anglistik und Amerikanistik , vol. 50 no. 2 2002; (p. 166-178)

— Appears in: Imaginary Antipodes : Essays on Contemporary Australian Literature and Culture 2011; (p. 23-36)
'Contemporary Australian indigenous literature is characterised by a remarkably prevalent use of apostrophic address directed at the white reader. This mode of direct address in black literary texts draws attention to the political dynamics moulding reader-writer relations in contemporary Australia. The article examines numerous examples of this direct mode of address in prose, poetry and drama, and argues that this direct mode of address is a central element in the message of black writers. The use of apostrophe implies the active 'positioning' of the white reader on the part of the indigenous speaker; only by virtue of this positioning is the reading process made possible. The direct mode of address in these texts thus demands that the reader take up a stance characterised by a readiness to listen attentively to black literary voices.' (Author's abstract)
'Why, White Man, Why?' : White Australia as the Addressee of Apostrophe in Contemporary Aboriginal Writing Russell West-Pavlov , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Zeitschrift fur Anglistik und Amerikanistik , vol. 50 no. 2 2002; (p. 166-178)

— Appears in: Imaginary Antipodes : Essays on Contemporary Australian Literature and Culture 2011; (p. 23-36)
'Contemporary Australian indigenous literature is characterised by a remarkably prevalent use of apostrophic address directed at the white reader. This mode of direct address in black literary texts draws attention to the political dynamics moulding reader-writer relations in contemporary Australia. The article examines numerous examples of this direct mode of address in prose, poetry and drama, and argues that this direct mode of address is a central element in the message of black writers. The use of apostrophe implies the active 'positioning' of the white reader on the part of the indigenous speaker; only by virtue of this positioning is the reading process made possible. The direct mode of address in these texts thus demands that the reader take up a stance characterised by a readiness to listen attentively to black literary voices.' (Author's abstract)
Last amended 18 Jan 2022 10:19:23
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