“While my name is remembered, I teach”: Oodgeroo Noonuccal and cross-cultural storytelling for children

• Authors: Katarzyna Kwapisz Williams
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Focusing on Stradbroke Dreamtime (1972), the first prose book of an Australian Indigenous poet, activist and educationalist, Oodgeroo Noonuccal (also known as Kath Walker), I reflect on questions which arise around cross-cultural communication and translation. Prompted by the unfinished project aimed at translating Stradbroke Dreamtime into Polish, I deliberate on challenges to respond appropriately to Australian Indigenous writing, particularly if it is influenced by white editing and publishing practices which often privilege Eurocentric views. Situating Stradbroke Dreamtime in the broader context of Noonuccal’s life, political activism and pedagogical efforts, I read her work as an intergenerational, inclusive and transformative project, and an act of solidarity between generations and cultures. In the context of Indigenous Australia, the concept of solidarity is often associated with reconciliation. I explore this nexus, arguing that Stradbroke Dreamtime reflects Walker’s strategy for reconciliation which includes empowering children through storytelling.

PL

Focusing on Stradbroke Dreamtime (1972), the first prose book of an Australian Indigenous poet, activist and educationalist, Oodgeroo Noonuccal (also known as Kath Walker), I reflect on questions which arise around cross-cultural communication and translation. Prompted by the unfinished project aimed at translating Stradbroke Dreamtime into Polish, I deliberate on challenges to respond appropriately to Australian Indigenous writing, particularly if it is influenced by white editing and publishing practices which often privilege Eurocentric views. Situating Stradbroke Dreamtime in the broader context of Noonuccal’s life, political activism and pedagogical efforts, I read her work as an intergenerational, inclusive and transformative project, and an act of solidarity between generations and cultures. In the context of Indigenous Australia, the concept of solidarity is often associated with reconciliation. I explore this nexus, arguing that Stradbroke Dreamtime reflects Walker’s strategy for reconciliation which includes empowering children through storytelling.

Keywords

EN

Australian Indigenous writing; autobiography; children’s literature; cross-cultural communication; translation

PL

Australian Indigenous writing; autobiography; children’s literature; cross-cultural communication; translation

• Publisher: Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze
• Journal: Literatura Ludowa
• Year: 2018
• Volume: 62
• Issue: 3

Dates

published

2018

online

2018-12-16

Contributors

author

Katarzyna Kwapisz Williams

Identifiers

DOI

10.12775/LL.3.2018.002