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Ways of Being Here
Ways of Being Here features four stories by emerging writers Rafeif Ismail, Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes, Tinashe Jakwa and Yuot Alaak, The stories featured are urgent, innovative, and inimitable, distinct voices that are easy to read, but hard to forget once you've entered their worlds, words, and thoughts.
In her Foreword, Maxine Beneba Clarke says, 'When we speak of black narratives in Australia, it is crucial to first acknowledge the stories of this land – of Australia’s First Peoples. It is this canon which should be the foundation of any conversation about inclusiveness in our national literature. We must know, respect and raise up the truths and tales which have come before us: the uninterrupted storytelling which has occurred, and continues to sing here, for thousands upon thousands of years.
Black people of African descent – black African diaspora settlers and migrants, and the descendants of such – have been living in Australia for over 200 years. Yet local African diaspora fiction has been markedly absent from Australian shelves. In an own voices sense, African Australia has long been invisible from Australian fiction.
This collection is a seed; a sample; a sign of what will most certainly come to pass. Flooded with the rhythms, poetry and patterns of the mother continent, there is also something about these stories – their preoccupations and sensibilities – which feels familiar. These stories speak of duty, family, blood-ties, and history. These stories sing of love, loss, and loneliness. Here, there are tales of hybrid identity and cultural clashes, of both ostracism and embrace.'
This collection is the outcome of a mentoring project facilitated by the Centre for Stories and funded by the Department of Culture and Arts (WA).
In her Foreword, Maxine Beneba Clarke says, 'When we speak of black narratives in Australia, it is crucial to first acknowledge the stories of this land – of Australia’s First Peoples. It is this canon which should be the foundation of any conversation about inclusiveness in our national literature. We must know, respect and raise up the truths and tales which have come before us: the uninterrupted storytelling which has occurred, and continues to sing here, for thousands upon thousands of years.
Black people of African descent – black African diaspora settlers and migrants, and the descendants of such – have been living in Australia for over 200 years. Yet local African diaspora fiction has been markedly absent from Australian shelves. In an own voices sense, African Australia has long been invisible from Australian fiction.
This collection is a seed; a sample; a sign of what will most certainly come to pass. Flooded with the rhythms, poetry and patterns of the mother continent, there is also something about these stories – their preoccupations and sensibilities – which feels familiar. These stories speak of duty, family, blood-ties, and history. These stories sing of love, loss, and loneliness. Here, there are tales of hybrid identity and cultural clashes, of both ostracism and embrace.'
This collection is the outcome of a mentoring project facilitated by the Centre for Stories and funded by the Department of Culture and Arts (WA).
- GenresShort Stories
100 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
3 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Rafeif Ismail
8 books13 followersRafeif Ismail is an award-winning emerging multilingual writer based in Boorloo, WA (colonially known as Perth).
Rafeif’s work explores the themes of home, belonging the so-called 'Australian' identity in the 21st century through the lens of a refugee and third culture youth of the Sudanese diaspora. Rafeif’s work has been published in anthologies and literary magazines across Australia and internationally, with a debut novel forthcoming.
Deeply committed to creating diverse works and spaces, Rafeif is the current managing director of Djed Press and a participant in the 2020 AFTRS Talent Camp.
Rafeif learned English by reading comic books and relearned her first language (Sudanese Arabic) through reading poetry. Rafeif saw Black Panther about 28 times in cinema and can stand with the best of them on Doctor Who and Star Trek trivia.
Rafeif’s work explores the themes of home, belonging the so-called 'Australian' identity in the 21st century through the lens of a refugee and third culture youth of the Sudanese diaspora. Rafeif’s work has been published in anthologies and literary magazines across Australia and internationally, with a debut novel forthcoming.
Deeply committed to creating diverse works and spaces, Rafeif is the current managing director of Djed Press and a participant in the 2020 AFTRS Talent Camp.
Rafeif learned English by reading comic books and relearned her first language (Sudanese Arabic) through reading poetry. Rafeif saw Black Panther about 28 times in cinema and can stand with the best of them on Doctor Who and Star Trek trivia.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 12, 2017
This is a collection of four short stories by African people living in Australia and looking at both Africa and Australia. I loved the story of being a security guard by Yirga Gelew Woldeyes and how it showed how it is to be an outsider if you an Ethiopian immigrant or anyone. The other stories gave fantastic comparisons of the lives they had in Africa compared to those they have in Australia.
Well worth the read.
Well worth the read.
June 9, 2018
Great to hear some African-Australian voices!
Each story gave me insight into another life.
I especially enjoyed "When the Sky Looks Like the Belly of a Donkey".
Each story gave me insight into another life.
I especially enjoyed "When the Sky Looks Like the Belly of a Donkey".
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews