Tag: Natalie Harkin

Projecting Decolonial Love

SoutherlyBlog

by Natalie Harkin In 2013 Leanne Simpson, Nishnaabeg writer and activist-educator, wrote a book Islands of Decolonial Love – a collection of short fictionalised gems including prose, poetry and songs imbued with characters who, as described by ARP Books, confront the often heartbreaking challenge of pairing the desire to live loving and observant lives with a constant struggle to simply survive the historical and ongoing injustices of racism and colonialism.  This book is accompanied by a stunning online soundtrack of instrumentals and spoken word poetry; poignant, cutting and astute, and surrounded by oceans that connect and beckon us to dive deep…

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In her pocket she carries her heart

SoutherlyBlog

by Natalie Harkin   Some moments linger to leave an indelible imprint on your mind, heart and spirit – they become the memories that rest under your skin, or recur with an unanticipated and uncanny trigger, or like stubborn stains, they simply refuse to fade.  This week I’ve been thinking about such moments shared with Kookatha/Nukunu woman Yhonnie Scarce.  Pride bursts for my acclaimed glass-artist friend who has just installed a major new work Death Zephyr in The National 2017: New Australian Art exhibition that opened last week in Sydney.  Yhonnie’s work is an embodied response to the ongoing fallout…

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Caravan to Yale – A Tjindarella Story

SoutherlyBlog

by Natalie Harkin I am above the clouds, floating on my contemplations and looking for patterns and remnant bush in cleared and carved-up landscapes.  I’ve just parted ways with my friend and fellow poet at the Adelaide airport – she to Sydney and me to Canberra, each for work.  We talked briefly about this blog, as I’ve been thinking a lot about the way her work has been represented in the mainstream media when news of her literary Prize went viral. The March 2017 announcement for the Windham-Campbell Prize, administered by Yale University in the US, was truly sensational.  It…

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