Arelhekenhe Angkentye: Women's Talk

Poems of Lyapirtneme from Arrernte Women in Central Australia

After selling out its first three print runs and having poems selected for Best of Australian Poems 2021 by Australian Poetry, a second edition of this beautiful anthology was needed! It is being released on the new imprint of Running Water Community Press (formerly Ptilotus Press) from Mparntwe Alice Springs and features poems written by over twenty Arrernte women around the refreshing Arrernte concept of Lyapirtneme. This second edition includes an additional poem by local heroines, MK Kemarre Turner (Arrernte Elder and author) and Maureen Jipiyiliya Nampijinpa O’Keefe (Warlpiri/Kaytetye author), as well as a reinvigorated design by award winning book designer, Gemma Banks.

There is healing in this poetry. These are our words. From our country. Our lands. Our spirits. For all the troubles we face every day, we are a passionate people. When we hear these poems, we know, we are lovers of life.

This anthology of poems was written by twenty-one Arrernte women from the heart of the continent in Mparntwe Alice Springs around the theme of the NT Writers Festival 2019, Lyapirtneme.

'Lyapirtneme is an Arrernte word that means growing back, returning. It's like if a bushfire went through the land, and all the trees burnt down, and the roots underground are still alive. When the rain comes you see little shoots growing out of the bottom of the tree, growing back again.' — Therese Perrurle Ryder, Arrernte Elder

It is an important contribution to the growing national landscape of First Nations literature, particularly from remote Australia.

1st edition ISBN: 9780648062936 | Published: 13 August 2020 | Paperback | 192 pages

2nd edition ISBN: 9780648062950 | Published: 1 May 2022 | Paperback | pages