Authors Encourage Others To Tell Their Story At Wagga Workshops

YOUNG people from troubled backgrounds will have the chance to make their stories heard during a series of workshops with two award-winning indigenous authors.

Ali Cobby Eckermann is the Booranga Writers’ Centre’s first writer-in-residence for 2011, and is joined by her partner Lionel Fogarty to run a series of workshops in Wagga over the next week.

Among their activities will be a session with the Booranga Writers, visiting creative writing classes at Charles Sturt University, and a series of workshops at the Riverina Juvenile Justice Centre.

“I’ve seen so many kids turn their lives around because it gives them the chance to be heard,” Ali said.

“It took me until my 40s to get published, but I’d like to help young people do that earlier.”

Part of Ali’s work with young people has included the publication of a book called See My World, giving them a chance to see their stories and experiences in print.

She is also starting the Aboriginal Writers Retreat in Koolunga, South Australia, which will be the first centre of its kind in Australia.

Lionel’s road to being a published author, now with 11 titles to his name, mirrors that of many of the young people they set out to help.

His work has developed from his first book, released in 1979, and filled with what Lionel describes as “a bitter, angry kind of poetry” drawing on his experiences growing up on a strict mission in Queensland, where indigenous culture was suppressed.

He has now had work included in 10 books, as well as writing a children’s book, and has had his writing translated into several languages.

“I’ve seen my books as a way to push language into places where it has been hidden away,” Lionel said.

The writers will conduct a reading at Wagga City Library on March 10 at 5pm, and attend the monthly writers’ workshop at the Booranga Writers’ Centre on March 12.