Cartwarra or What?
Selected Poems and Stories
You are indeed / a truly deadly solid / moorditj yorgah An’ um / jerrepjing something wicked / for you But um / just a wintjarren Nyoongar man
Cartwarra or what? Selected pofems and stories is a compendium of Alf’s works that span several literary genres, and is representative of an older generation of Blak writers who were survivors of the Stolen Generations. His poetry and short stories have been anthologised and published in various collections, spanning a career of over 30 years. This collection delicately weaves together his past works for a new generation, in which not much has changed.
This collection of stories and poems is, at best, raw, intermittently melodramatic, but always full of colourful, engaging characters imbued with playful humour and ironic storytelling. Alf seamlessly captures human frailty, in all its contradictions, and seizes upon ironies that coexist, merge and jostle for light and space in everyday Nyoongar life.
Alf’s storytelling exposes the uncomfortable truths of alcoholism, separation from family, community and land, grief and the profound loss of identity on the everyday life of his Aboriginal characters. Alf’s stories and poems offer a vivid picture of the care, kindness and gentleness of Aboriginal families and communities and their enduring strength, resourcefulness and power.
-
Free Shipping for orders $150+
Publishing has a diversity problem. There are less 'diverse' books being published which limits the discoverability and reach of those authors.
Representation is important. Read more about why we exist here.
An anti-racist social enterprise bookstore specialising in BIPOC books.
Only about 11% of books published are by BIPOC authors — so unless you specifically seek out books by BIPOC authors, you aren't likely to find very many of them organically. At Amplify, BIPOC authors are highlighted and celebrated. Here, they don't have to fight to be seen, and you don't have to fight to find them.
We hope that in our shop, you can discover a new favourite read, find stories that speak uniquely to you, learn about a culture outside your own (or more about your own histories), and gain a better understanding of the systems that connect us all.
Looking for something super specific?
Have a scroll through our tag directory to help direct your search and bring you to curated collections, as grouped by subgenres, identity markers, and more!
