You are invited to the launch of two new Noongar-language picture books produced via a partnership between Curtin University and Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories, with support from the Australian Research Council.

Ngalak Yongka Miyak Koorliny / Visiting the Kangaroo Moon Site takes readers to the Great Southern region of Western Australia, where a granite outcrop bears natural imprints resembling the different phases of the moon. In the story a Wirlomin elder takes family to the site and shares a cultural yarn about how the kangaroo wonders why it will pass away once and forever, but the moon comes back to life month after month after month.

Wirrawoorliny/Whirlwind shares the story of a boy who is camping alone and hears strange sounds in the night. When he goes to investigate he is set upon by a djanak, a devil of Noongar Country. He is promptly eaten, but something incredible happens when his bones are left in the dust: a whirlwind appears and builds his body again, piece by piece.

Prof Kim Scott and Dr Cass Lynch will speak about the collaborative community research that informs the books, the process, and do a reading on the day.

Kim Scott is an award-winning Noongar author who has worked extensively in Indigenous education and the arts. Kim is also a convener of Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories. Kim’s second novel, Benang (1999), won a number of literary awards, including The Miles Franklin, which he won for a second time with That Deadman Dance (2010) along with the South-east Asia and Pacific Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal and other accolades. His work has been translated and published in China, India, Holland, Japan and France.

Kim was awarded a Centenary Medal, and in 2012 was awarded Western Australian of the Year. He is a member of the West Australian Writers Hall of Fame and in 2022 was declared a State Cultural Treasure. Kim is currently employed as Professor of Writing in the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts at Curtin University.

Cass Lynch is a Koreng Wudjari writer and researcher and is descended from the Noongar families of Ravensthorpe in the Great Southern region. She is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Curtin University where she works on the revitalisation of south coast Noongar songs and stories. She is a committee member for Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories and the co-founder of the Aboriginal literature endeavour Woylie Project. Her short fiction and poetry is taught at universities and high schools in Western Australia and Victoria.

Light refreshments will be provided.

These books are a creative output of the ARC Future Fellowship Project FT210100857: Narrative, Technologies and Wirlomin Moorditj-abiny, sponsored by the Australian Research Council.

Image credits:

Banner - Illustration from Ngalak Yongka Miyak Koorliny courtesy Wirlomin Noongar Language & Stories Inc.

Image 1: Kim Scott portrait by Nic Duncan.

Image 2: Cass Lynch portrait by Duncan Wright.

Photography

This event will be photographed and/or videoed and images will occasionally be used for promotional and marketing purposes, including social media. If you do not wish to be photographed or videoed, please notify staff at event registration.

Accessibility

Everyone is welcome at the John Curtin Gallery. Plan your visit to the John Curtin Gallery.

Contact the host of Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Book Launch

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