Need Recommendations for Australian Literature
 

Can anyone recommend me a good anthology of Australian Aboriginal poetry or literature? Also literature from contemporary times would be helpful also. Thanks.

G'day, Clayton! Traditionally, the 'poetry' of Indigenous Australians is their song language itself. The songlines. Not separate. Song, dance, country. I have a book of them, "Warlpiri Women's Songs from Yuendumu", with a CD of the singing, but it's not widely available, and I treasure it. What interests me most is that Indigenous song poetry is communal.

In recent years there's been a burst of contemporary Indigenous Australian individual poetry collections written in English, but I'm not aware of an anthology yet. I'm sure one is in the offing!

The best thing going, in my view is Australian Poetry Since 1788 ed. Geoffrey Lehmann & Robert Gray. And it includes some Indigenous songs!

There are also some great anthologies of Australian Short Stories. I'm not near my bookshelves at the moment, but I can get back to you on that if you're interested.

Are you planning to teach Australian Literature?

Cally

Thanks for your recommendations! Anything else you can recommend, feel free to DM me or reply with any other suggestions. I'm open to anything. I am not actually a teacher, but just a young adult looking to dive into the culture a lot more. I live in America, but have always felt drawn to Australia, and have a dream of moving there some day and potentially joining their military for permanent citizenship. Thanks for your time and responses! Clayton

Ern Malley, Les Murray

Ahh, fascinating, Clayton! Follow your dream, for sure. It's the best place on earth!!

For poetry, the anthology I recommended above FOR SURE, then. It's got great samplings of all the poetry, including some song cycles of Indigenous Austrailians. If you want a single collection of one Australian poet, it has to be Les Murray. He's our god. Get his Collected, or even his Selected.

As for Australian Literature in capital letters, the writer I would put first into the hands of someone who wanted to know Australia, would be Helen Garner. She is one of the best prose stylists in the world, wise and funny and fearless and curious and inexhaustible. If you can, get hold of a collection of all her journalism and articles and essays called True Stories. Helen Garner is our greatest living literary treasure.

After that, read Richard Flanagan. He is the other beating heart of Australian Literature. He is Tasmanian, like me. His latest (uncategoriseable) book is called Question 7. It's very much about being Tasmanian, and about being human. Incredible stuff. And read The Narrow Road to the Deep North for which he won the Booker Prize.

And if you want novels that are the most perfectly written things ever, read David Malouf. I've been on a private campaign to give the man a Nobel Prize for years!! ha! Look for Johnno, Fy Away Peter, An Imaginary Life, Ransom.

I'll stop, or else I'll go on. Pm me if you need advice moving forward!

Cally