Indigenous Australian writer Kim Scott says of his novel Benang that it is “in part about reclamation from the printed page”: reclaiming Indigeneity from the confines of colonial writing and Western discourse (Scott 499). Despite Scott’s intention of retrieving Indigenous identity from colonial writing, he has spoken of grounding himself in the colonial archives during the process of writing Benang. Paradoxically, that which he is attempting to disclaim also acts as a ‘strange’ guide. Scott acknowledges in particular the historical figure A.O. Neville’s eugenicist manifesto Australia’s Coloured Minority: Its Place in the Community as a “continual – albeit perverse – source of inspiration” (Scott 497). Throughout Benang, Scott quotes directly from colonial documents: Neville’s book, correspondence between the Chief Protector and Local Protectors, speeches Neville made to Parliament, internal correspondence in the Aborigines Department, and...
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Citation: Slater, Lisa . "Benang: from the heart". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 May 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23620, accessed 09 June 2026.]
