Smyth, Elizabeth A. (2025) Writing Across a Cultural Interface: A Guide for Non-Indigenous Writers. In: [Presented at the International Australian Studies Association Biennial Conference]. From: InASA 2025: International Australian Studies Association Biennial Conference, 5-7 February 2025, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

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Abstract

In recent years non-Indigenous writers have grappled with inclusion and representation of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples in creative works. Historically, and at times in contemporary fiction, writers have misrepresented, marginalized, or omitted Indigenous people as characters. Writers who craft regional and rural settings perhaps bear a greater onus than their metropolitan peers to characterize Indigenous people due to an expectation of a greater extent of unbroken connections to Country beyond the dense infrastructure of cityscapes. With the rise of First Nations authorship and authority, non-Indigenous writers are often advised to either avoid writing Indigenous characters or to get to know traditional owners and refine their writing skills to achieve authenticity. In this article, I offer my experience as a non-Indigenous writer crafting a farm novel that situates Aboriginal characters at the centre of the farm and the narrative. My writing process required constant awareness of a literary cultural interface and an approach that I hoped would recognize yet not impinge on Indigenous knowledge, beliefs, and authorship. My experience led to the development of guidelines that may be useful to other writers crafting Australian settings.

Item ID:	84690
Item Type:	Conference Item (Presentation)
Keywords:	Fiction, Indigenous representation, First Nations, farm novel
Related URLs:	https://inasa.org/
Date Deposited:	25 Feb 2025 01:48
FoR Codes:	36 CREATIVE ARTS AND WRITING > 3602 Creative and professional writing > 360201 Creative writing (incl. scriptwriting) @ 50% 47 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 4705 Literary studies > 470502 Australian literature (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander literature) @ 50%
SEO Codes:	28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280122 Expanding knowledge in creative arts and writing studies @ 50% 13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1302 Communication > 130203 Literature @ 50%
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