'Living on Stolen Land' by Ambelin Kwaymullina

Received from the Publisher 

From the BLURB: 

Living on Stolen Land is a prose-styled look at our colonial-settler ‘present’. This book is the first of its kind to address and educate a broad audience about the colonial contextual history of Australia, in a highly original way. It pulls apart the myths at the heart of our nationhood, and challenges Australia to come to terms with its own past and its place within and on ‘Indigenous Countries’.

This title speaks to many First Nations’ truths; stolen lands, sovereignties, time, decolonisation, First Nations perspectives, systemic bias and other constructs that inform our present discussions and ever-expanding understanding. This title is a timely, thought-provoking and accessible read.

There is no part of this place
that was not
is not
cared for
loved
by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander nation

I’m going to say this is one of the most important books to seek out, own, and learn from in 2020 - and will go down as an instant classic, a staple of every library and classroom forevermore.

Somebody in #LoveOzYA community was recently asking if any non-fiction books exist about the history of systemic racism in Australia and the realities of being a settler-colony where sovereignty was never ceded ... 'Living On Stolen Land' isn’t non-fiction, it’s prose-style but *everything* is covered within. It's lyrical truth.

The poetry style has you absorbing blows of that truth not *easily* but in a way that really does imprint. And the blurb does proclaim its uniqueness (long-overdueness?) for the Australian landscape. I’ve long been a huge fan of Ambelin’s, and everything that’s in this book are ideas in the pages of her Aussie-YA too; but here they’re stark and laid bare. You can’t look away - her words bite and bare down and this is an essential book for *everyone* to read, not least because I can’t even begin to imagine how emotionally taxing it would have been to write and share. Wow. 

I encourage you to buy this book now, to be part of the conversation that is sure to spring ...

There are no trees
rivers
hills
stars
that were not
are not
someone’s kin

5/5

Book available from July 1