Stan GrantRezensionen

5 stars - with a caveat. I would stress that this is only one opinion. As Grant himself notes, many Indigenous people would disagree with some of his conclusions, and I've certainly heard mixed reviews of Grant's theories from my Indigenous friends. But that's true of any group, of course; it is an easy majority fantasy to reduce a minority to one representative.

Acknowledging this is one take on a complex issue, Grant's essay is gorgeous. Encompassing the ancient history of Australia's Aboriginals as well as the murky modern situation, analysing Europeans' abhorrent treatment while also stressing some intriguing challenges to the modern progressive opinion of race relations in Australia. Grant is one of our most respected journalists for a reason, and that reason is clear.

Stan Grant is an award-winning Australian journalist; in a lot of ways he is similar to Ta-Nehihi Coates, whom he references a couple of times.

Talking To My Country is a frank and direct statement of what it is like to be Aboriginal in today's Australia. Grant makes the point that the abuses and depredations that so horrify us now and not that far in the past that his family can forget them. He reminds us that we have whitewashed our history, pretending that there was nobody here when the British arrived, glossing over the massacres our forebears committed and writing them out of our Constitution.

Formal apology for these depredations are just the start of what this country needs to do to face up to and rectify our appalling relations with the original occupants of this land. Reading Grant's book leaves one in no doubt as to the need for us to do that.

Stan Grant's book gives an excellent picture of the history and plight of the aborigines, who are still not recognised in our country.
I admire Stan Grant and appreciate his reporting ability, summarising topical events in Australia and the world. His book gave me a good opportunity to learn more about him as a person, his life and struggles.
He does good job presenting in ABC TV program ‘Matter of Fact With Stan Grant’, he pesents with a fresh perspective.

An intense, personal memoir, amazingly evocative of country and people. Grant is brutally honest about the history of this country, as well as their personal history, and the toll that growing up black in a racist country has taken. Highly recommended.

Profound and powerful collection of essays about Australia's relationship with her Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.½

If there is one issue in which our group finds complete agreement it would have to be the matter of racism. Over the years we have read many novels with this as either an underlying or central theme. It can lead to a highly emotional discussion, but one that always leaves us passionately opposed to what we consider one of the worst of all human flaws.

Grant’s Talking to My Country did not disappoint in the discussion stakes, and although the general opinion was one of high regard for what the author was saying, our views differed on how he said it.

Some felt that it was an especially personal account of suffered racism and on that level, very confronting. Grant’s childhood experiences … consistent relocating, indifferent teachers, juvenile justice … were not overly surprising to us and while he did encounter a certain amount of ‘luck’ in his educational path, we felt the strong family unit he was raised in helped in no small way to create a solid, resilient character. Something he put to good use in his chosen career.

There were those of us who tired a little of the repetitive nature of his dialogue, feeling he laboured the point just a little and there was some discussion of the reconciliation debate and what has (and hasn’t) changed in the last 20-25 years. How racists are Australians and why don’t those who believe differently speak out?

Then there is the Adam Goodes speech, the Australia Day invasion debate, deaths in custody and Indigenous education … all fiery issues that we spent the better part of 90 minutes discussing.

But in the end there were but two things said which sent a jolt through most of us …

As quoted from Stan Grant ‘… ours is an inheritance of sadness …’

And from Shirley ‘… I was brought up to be thankful that I was born in Australia, with a white face …’

As sad and alarming as both these statements are, they could be the start of moving towards a different way of thinking. Let’s hope that day arrives sooner rather than later.

Dapto Tuesday Book Club

Moving and beautifully written personal musings on the state of race politics in Australia. The impact of inter-generational trauma is incredibly tragic and thought provoking for any Australian.

When I reviewed Stan Grant’s powerful Talking to My Country back in March of this year, I predicted that it could be a game-changer, but now I think that perhaps this Quarterly Essay might be the book that achieves more. In a coherently argued essay, what Grant is basically saying is that the image of indigenous poverty and disadvantage is only one part of the picture of indigenous life, and should not be the dominant one.

There’s a man I met at a recent function who I hope reads this essay too. Making idle pre-dinner chat, he was telling us about his recent holiday up north when he launched into a diatribe about the dysfunctional Aboriginal communities he saw. I was uncomfortable with what he was saying but since I’ve never been to one of the communities I held my tongue until he extrapolated from what he’d seen to make generalisations about all Aborigines. ‘Whoa,’ I said, ‘I’m not having that. You can talk about the people you’ve seen but you can’t make judgements about all indigenous people on the basis of that. There are plenty of middle-class indigenous people in Australia who are better educated than you and I are. I know because I’ve read their books.’

(It might not be polite to tackle people about their racism at social occasions, but I don’t tolerate racists and anti-Semites any time. The standard you walk past, is the standard you accept.)

I wish I’d had Stan Grant’s essay to hand! In a chapter entitled The Quiet Revolution he tells us that

There are around 30,000 Indigenous university graduates in Australia; in 1991 there were fewer than 4000. Those students who are breaking through are crafting a new narrative of empowerment and individuality. Dr Sana Nakata is a second-generation Indigenous PhD. Her father, Martin, was the first Torres Strait Islander to complete a doctorate, and his daughter finished hers in 2013. She is now teaching political theory at the University of Melbourne. She is part of a wave of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students earning doctoral degrees. The number has quadrupled in the past twenty years. Between 1990 and 2000 there were fifty-five Indigenous students awarded PhDs; between 2000 and 2011 there were 219. (p.72)

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2016/12/05/the-australian-dream-blood-history-and-becom...

A brilliant book by well known TV journalist, Stan Grant.The story of his upbringing as the child of mixed race parents in a country town, is told against the background of his story of the disintegration of the Aboriginal race and of his people the Wiradjuri people. I was so moved and ashamed by this story, and it also told of the hardships of the very early Irish settlers and convicts from England and shows how they were also exploited by the wealthy settlers.The title of his book Talking to my Country" really means talking to the people of my country and is essential reading for all Australians.½

It says on the cover, 'The book that every Australian should read', and how true that is. There ought to be a copy in every schoolroom and library. Grant is a well-respected journalist and a proud Wiradjuri man, and he speaks from the heart when describing the relationship between his people and the rest of the Australian nation. He doesn't have answers to all the problems created by what are essentially two 'countries', but he will never cease asking the questions that go to right to the nub of the issues.
Too many white Australians talk about everyone 'moving on' from a history of massacre and deprivation of human rights that has been kept horribly quiet for too long. There are a few misunderstandings, therefore, that need ironing out before anyone can move anywhere.

Read 2016.