Indigenous Australian writer Kim Scott says of his novel
Benangthat 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 Communityas a “continual – albeit perverse – source of inspiration” (Scott 497). Throughout
Benang, Scott quotes directly from colonial documents:…
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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 02 December 2024.]