Anita Heiss' Black Books Challenge

Anita writes:
This list is by no means definitive, with over 5000 published Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia (see Black Words), my list is endless, but scanning my bookshelf quickly, these are easily some of my ‘must reads’ that I recommend to you.

Many of the authors I have listed below have many published works across genres, but I limited myself to one book per author.  As you’ll see, I’ve only listed 99 titles, and I’ve left 100 for YOU to fill in.
I've added one of Anita's own titles, one that I think will be a really important read for Australians in the years to come.

Anita Heiss’ 100 Black Book Challenge list is:

1. Benang, Kim Scott
2. Bitin’ Back, Vivienne ClevenReview
3. Bridge of Triangles, John Muk Muk Burke
4. Butterfly Song, Terri Janke - Review
5. Carpentaria, Alexis Wright 
6. Digger J Jones, Richard Frankland - Review
7. Every Secret Thing, Marie Munkara - Review
8. Home, Larissa Behrendt
9. Long Time Now: stories of the Dreamtime, the here and now, Alf Taylor
10. Not Quite Men, No Longer Boys, Kenny Laughton
11. Pemulwuy: the rainbow warrior, Eric Wilmott
12. Shark, Bruce Pascoe
13. Swallow the Air, Tara June Winch - Read
14. Sweet Guy, Jared Thomas
15. Sweet Water, Stolen Land, Philip McLaren
16. The Kadaitcha Sung, Sam Watson
17. Too Flash, Melissa Lucashenko
18. A Bastard Like Me, Charles Perkins 
19. Aunty Rita, Rita and Jackie Huggins
20. Born a half-caste, Marnie Kennedy
21. Broken Dreams, Bill Dodd 
22. Busted Out Laughing, Dot Collard and Beryl Harp
23. Don’t take your love to town, Ruby Langford Ginibi
24. Follow the rabbit proof fence, Doris Pilkington
25. Full Circle, Edie Wright
26. Forcibly Removed, Albert Holt
27. Grease and Ochre, Patsy Cameron
28. Hey Mum, What’s a half-caste? Lorraine McGee-Sippel
29. If Everyone Cared, Margaret Tucker
30. I’m the one who knows this country, Jessie Lennon
31. Is that you, Ruthie? Ruth Hegarty
32. Jinangga, Monty Walgar
33. Kakadu Man, Bill Neidjie
34. Karobran, Monica Clare
35. Life B’long Ali Drummond: a life in the Torres Strait, Samantha Faulkner with Ali Drummond
36. Love Against the Law, Tex and Nelly Camfoo
37. Me, Antman and Fleebag, Gayle Kennedy
38. Many Lifetimes, Audrey Evans
39. Maybe Tomorrow, Boori Monty Pryor
40. My Past, their future: stories from Cape Barren Island, Molly Mallett
41. My Place, Sally Morgan - Read back when it was first published or not long after
42. Pride and Prejudice, Ida West
43. Shadow Lines, Stephen Kinnane
44. Songman : The Story of an Aboriginal Elder of Uluru, Bob Randall
45. Talking About Celia, Jeanie Bell
46. The N Word, Stephen Hagan
47. Through My Eyes, Ella Simon 
48. This is my word, Magdeleine Williams
49. Unbranded, Herb Wharton
50. Wandering Girl, Glenyse Ward
51. When you grow up, Connie McDonald
52. Wisdom Man, Banjo Clarke
53. Wyndham Yella Fella, Reginald Birch
54. Windradyne: A Wiradjuri Warrior, Mary Coe
55. Yami: the autobiography of Yami Lester
56. Anonymous Premonition, Yvette Holt
57. Black Woman, Black Life, Kerry Reed-Gilbert
58. Blue Grass, Peter Minter
59. Dreaming in Urban Areas, Lisa Bellear
60. Holocaust Island, Graeme Dixon
61. Little Bit Long Time, Ali Cobby Eckermann
62. New and Selected Poems : Munaldjali, Mutuerjaraera, Lionel Fogarty 
63. Post me to the Prime Minister, Romaine Moreton
64. Skin Painting, Elizabeth Hodgson - Review
65. Smoke Encrypted Whispers, Samuel Wagan Watson
66. The Imprint of Infinity, Jennifer Martiniello 
67. We Are Going, Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal)
68. Bush games and knucklebones, Doris Kartinyeri - Review
69. Down the hole, Edna Tantjingu Williams and Eileen Wani Wingfield illustrated by Kunyi June-Anne McInerney - Review
70. Down River: the Wilcannia Mob Story
71. Jalygurr : Aussie Animal Rhymes : Poems for Kids, Pat Torres
72. Little Platypus and the Fire Spirit, Mundara Koodang 
73. Maralinga – The Anangu Story - Read
74. Nanna’s Land, Delphine Sarago-Kendron
75. Papunya School Book of Country and History  - Review
76. Rain Flower, Mary Duroux
77. Tell me why, Sarah Jackson
78. The Cowboy Frog, Hylton Laurel 
79. The Legend of the Seven Sisters, a traditional Aboriginal Story from Western Australia, May O’Brien and Sue Wyatt
80. The Old Frangipani Tree at Flying Fish Point, Trina Saffioti
81. Wandihnu and the Dugong, Elizabeth and Wandihnu Wymarra
82. When I was little like you, Mary Malbunka - Read
83. Yarning Strong series, various authors
84. Yinti, Jimmy Pike
85. Black Medea, Wesley Enoch
86. Bran Nue Dae, Jimmy Chi 
87. The Cake Man, Robert Merritt
88. The Cherry Pickers, Kevin Gilbert
89. I Don’t Wanna Play House, Tammy Anderson
90. The Dreamers, Jack Davis
91. Stolen, Jane Harrison
92. Holding Up The Sky – Aboriginal Women Speak
93. Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines, David Unaipon
94. Indigenous Australian Voices: A reader, Sabbioni, Jennifer; Schaffer, Kay & Smith, Sidionie. 
95. Meanjin: Blak Times: Indigenous Australia, Minter, Peter (ed) 
96. Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature, Heiss and Minters (eds) 
97. Skins: Contemporary Indigenous Writing, Akiwenzie-Damm, Kateri and Douglas, Josie
98. Those Who Remain Will Always Remember: An Anthology of Aboriginal Writing, Brewster, Anne; van den Berg, Rosemary and O’Neill, Angeline (eds.) 
99. Untreated: Poems by Black Writers
100.  Am I Black Enough For You?, Anita Heiss

1 comment:

  1. That's a wonderful list. I have read a few and look forward to looking for more of them.

    ReplyDelete