Two of this blog’s learned scouts
spend much time in Asia and
return with most interesting
books, printed guides , textiles ,
mixed ephemera and a wealth of
information and
anecdotes about what is
going on in this
important region . One
of the items
they kindly bought for
us is the collection of poems by Lionel George Fogarty in one of the many interesting bookshops in Thailand’s exotic Chiang Mai .
Fogarty was born at Cherbourg Aboriginal Reserve , Queensland, and was 24 when this book was published in 1982. There is a foreword by Aboriginal activist Gary Foley :
Fogarty was born at Cherbourg Aboriginal Reserve , Queensland, and was 24 when this book was published in 1982. There is a foreword by Aboriginal activist Gary Foley :
Lionel
Fogarty is a strong , proud , young Black Australian who has managed to overcome a multitude of imposed
‘handicaps’ (like growing up under the notorious Queensland Aborigine Act, lack of formal education , continuing
difficulties in reading and writing ,etc.) to emerge as potentially one of the Aboriginal people’s most important poets.
His
work reflects the deep anger and hurt of many generations of totally
oppressed Black Australians, and yet , at the same time manages to convey the profound
warmth , compassion and love that
exists between Aboriginal people in their
own communities .
This remarkable
ability results in a powerful book of poetry which is required
reading for all those emphathetic
non-Aboriginal people who wish to try and understand the long-term effects of what we Aboriginal people have experienced since our country was invaded , and the
subsequent dispossession and subjugation
of our people. This book is a worthy follow up to Lionel’s first book, Kargun, in which he
clearly gave notice that he is a Black Australian writer who cannot be ignored. I commend this , his latest volume , to all
people of all races who are committed to the fundamental principle that all human
beings should be able
to live with dignity, self
respect and freedom.
Fogarty’s volume was
found in Shaman's bookshop, its
2009 stock number sticker, which shows
a cat reading a book , is shown here .
Soon after receiving Fogarty's book his name came up in relation to the Rachel Perkins documentary film Black Power Woman , highlighting the involvement of Marlene Cummins in the Brisbane Chapter of the American Black Power Party during the Joh-Bjelke - Petersen era in the 1970s. A clip of the film shown during a TV interview showed poet Lionel Fogarty expressing awe about the way Cummins went about her work in the secretive organisation . NEXT : Inside Chiang Mai's bookshops with a connection to the Underground Comix scene in Berkeley and San Francisco .
