Kim Scott, Benang: from the heart

Lisa Slater (University of South Australia)

Ed. by Cristina Sandru, The Literary Encyclopedia
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 9.1.1: Australian Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Susan Kossew (Monash University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1999

Places

Australia (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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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:…

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2635 words

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 18 April 2024.]

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Kim Scott, Benang: from the heart

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