Black Life

From award-winning playwright, author and activist Jack Davis comes this important and essential poetry collection. Black Life is a powerful and unflinching exploration of Aboriginal identity, resilience and resistance. Through vivid imagery and lyrical honesty, Davis gives voice to the struggles and triumphs of First Nations people, confronting themes of dispossession, cultural survival and the enduring strength of community. His poetry is both deeply personal and profoundly political, weaving together stories of pain and hope to challenge readers and celebrate the richness of Aboriginal heritage. Black Life stands as a testament to Davis’ s role as a leading voice in Australian literature and a tireless advocate for justice.

Kim Scott is a descendant of people living along the south coast of Western Australia prior to colonisation, and is proud to be one among those who call themselves Noongar. He began writing for publication shortly after he became a secondary school teacher of English. True Country, his first novel, was published in 1993. Kim’ s writing has won numerous national and international awards, including the Miles Franklin Literary Award (twice) and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. He is currently Professor of Writing at Curtin University in Western Australia. Jack Davis (1917-2000) began writing when he was fourteen years old. The fourth child in a family of eleven, he spent his childhood in the West Australian mill town of Yarloop. He worked for several years as a stockman in the north before returning to Perth and settling into full-time writing and a long life of service to the Aboriginal cause. He is the author of four published poetry collections and a memoir, A Boy’ s Life, which was published in 1991. He received numerous distinctions including the British Empire Medal, the Order of Australia and two honorary doctorates.