Cultural Knowledge
Such a loaded term – cultural knowledge – coming as it does with its own set of expectations and hints of secrets. When I try to unpack it a little, I think about how knowledge differs from appropriation and what the keepers of cultural knowledge can do to protect themselves from [...]
Bearing Witness
Google describes bearing witness as a term that refers to sharing our experiences with others, most notably in the communication to others of traumatic experiences. This term has been on my mind most of this year as I grapple with the hashtags of empathy and wondering why I had no desire [...]
Mothering under different skies
I was a paranoid mum when my daughter was growing up. Raising her in a city/country/continent far removed from where I was raised made me paranoid. My daughter always knew which two people in the world she could trust implicitly, no matter what. One of them was me. I went through [...]
Literary Friendships #2
My second pair of guests are Sue Braghieri and Hannah van Didden. I first met them at a writing workshop a few years ago and we have been friends since. Their responses remind me how important it is to celebrate as well as create. When did you two meet and what [...]
Literary Friendships #1
A little while ago I started thinking of literary friendships between women, and I turned naturally enough, to Professor Google. Despite trying the words in different combinations, the Professor thought I was enquiring about Elena Ferrante and the Neapolitan novels, which celebrate female friendship. I persisted and found a few blogs [...]
Hansonisation
While I hesitate to give more air time to a woman known best for saying things I find hard not to take personally, the fact that Pauline Hanson is back on our TV screens for another stint, compels me to write this post. I am so tired of hearing - "we [...]
An editorial and some stories
A few months ago I was invited by Cafe Dissensus to guest edit a special issue on Female Genital Mutilation in India. A topic close to my heart, for reasons that will become evident when you read the editorial here and the other stories in this issue. The extraordinary transformative [...]
Neglecting the Blog
I have been doing a bit of that lately - neglecting the blog, I mean. I've been immersed in submissions for two journals I'm currently editing (both, as guest editor). Then I was distracted by the fabulous Perth Writers Festival which coincided with my sister's soul-warming visit. And finally, I'm pinching [...]
On Not Reading Dickens
This post was published in Cafe Dissensus on 8/12/2015 http://cafedissensusblog.com/2015/12/08/on-not-reading-dickens/comment-page-1/