BLACKWORDS: Writers on Identity (2014)

I am black of skin among whites,And I am proud,Proud of race and proud of skin.(Walker 14)In the 1960s Oodgeroo Noonuccal (then Kath Walker) hit the literary limelight as Australia's first published 'Aboriginal poet' and since then Aboriginal writers have used their work as a form of self-definition and to defend our rights to our identity. Many authors are inspired by the need to redress historical government definitions of Aboriginality, to reclaim pride in First Nation status, to explain the diversity of Aboriginal experience, and to demonstrate the realities and complexities of 'being Aboriginal' in the 21st century.Aboriginal writing across genres-particularly through poetry, children's literature and memoir-highlights how the discussion of identity has increased over time since the above quote was written, and that self-representation in the public domain is not only desired but also essential for self-respect and dignity in Australian society today. Definitions of Aboriginality from outside the community-sometimes through media commentary-continue to provide the motivation for many authors to pen responses and reactions.The concept of Aboriginality has proven at times difficult for Australians generally to grasp, and sometimes even for Aboriginal people themselves, especially those who were denied access to family, culture and community due to past government policies of enforced separation. The affects of the differing experiences of Aboriginality are, nevertheless, evident in writings by Aboriginal people, across all creative genres. Aboriginal-authored poetry, short stories, plays, songs, autobiographies, biographies, community histories and even children's books have tackled head-on the issues related to 'being Aboriginal.' In this way writing is used as a tool to educate non-Aboriginal readers in understanding Aboriginal Australia better, which in turns aids race relations between Black and white Australians.Many authors are also 'writing Aboriginality' as a means of catharsis. The act of writing often becomes more than solely creative for many authors who use the process as a vehicle for analysing, understanding, asserting, determining and defining their own sense of identity. The process of writing also allows individuals, like Sally Morgan (My Place, 1988) for example, to follow their journey of discovering their Aboriginality and documenting it for their own and others' benefit.The way in which Aboriginal people have been categorised by race in literary representations and criticism by white authors, is no different to the way in which they have been defined by race in sports, history, the arts and politics. Although many individuals would like to be regarded and critiqued for their writing, rather than their race, 'Aboriginal author' is also a cementing of identity for the writer, and a categorisation that doesn't offend. Rather, most writers are proud of their identity as well as their ability to write in an overwhelmingly white world, because, in the words of the late Bundjalung writer, Ruby Langford Ginibi, 'we are reclaiming our history, our heritage, and our identity, and that's very important to our cause' (19).Alexis Wright, author of the Miles Franklin Award-winning novel Carpentaria (2006), and Plains of Promise (1997) and The Swan Book (2013), is a Waanji woman from the Gulf of Carpentaria. Alexis is adamant that she doesn't want her Aboriginality separated from her writing because it is, she says, 'what's producing the writing. Without it I wouldn't be able to write the way I do' (78).Wiradjuri writer Kerry Reed-Gilbert, whose poetry in Black Woman, Black Life is heavily influenced by her identity, is clear about the role of Aboriginality in writing: 'Aboriginal identity is who we are as writers, as people. We live our lives as the Indigenous people of this land, we write as Indigenous people of this land' (41).Yuggera and Dulingbara linguist Jeanie Bell is the author of the biography Talking About Celia: Community and Family Memories of Celia Smith, and she agrees that Aboriginal identity plays a fundamental role in her ability to write and in the motivations of Aboriginal authors. …