Mudrooroo’s Followers (10)

Mudrooroo

Born

in Narrogin, Australia

August 21, 1938

Died

January 20, 2019

Genre

Nonfiction, Fiction, Fantasy

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Born Colin Johnson in 1938, Mudrooroo grew up in institutions without his parents, before becoming a petty criminal and spending time in Fremantle Prison.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Mudrooroo spent time living in India, the United States, and the UK, during which time he published his early novels, including "Wild Cat Falling", a political novel drawing on his own experiences as a former convict without a sense of purpose.

On returning to Australia in the late 1970s, Mudrooroo began a full-time career as a writer, lecturer, and literary advocate, publishing several volumes examining the loneliness and isolation of Australian life, with a focus on Indigenous Australian existence. By the 1990s, he added speculative fiction and young adult f Born Colin Johnson in 1938, Mudrooroo grew up in institutions without his parents, before becoming a petty criminal and spending time in Fremantle Prison.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Mudrooroo spent time living in India, the United States, and the UK, during which time he published his early novels, including "Wild Cat Falling", a political novel drawing on his own experiences as a former convict without a sense of purpose.

On returning to Australia in the late 1970s, Mudrooroo began a full-time career as a writer, lecturer, and literary advocate, publishing several volumes examining the loneliness and isolation of Australian life, with a focus on Indigenous Australian existence. By the 1990s, he added speculative fiction and young adult fiction to his repertoire. He was recognised as one of the most well-known Indigenous writers in the country, at a time when Indigenous literature was finally gaining recognition in the country.

In 1996, however, journalists revealed that Mudrooroo had no Indigenous ancestry. His background was English and African-American, and his family did not view themselves as Aboriginal. In the resulting furore, Mudrooroo argued that he had been treated as Aboriginal due to his dark skin, and had in many ways lived an Aboriginal life. The scandal divided observers: some felt that Mudrooroo's contribution to Aboriginal writing, and his identification with Australia's First Peoples, gave him some claims of kinship. Many others felt that he had used stories that were not his, and actively lied, at a time when Aboriginal authenticity and identity were already under attack from white nationalists and cultural conservatives.

Although he published some final volumes through to the year 2000, Mudrooroo's reputation was sullied and he subsequently left Australia for Nepal. His writings have largely vanished from the school curriculum, with the prevailing cultural attitude of the modern era that Indigeneity comes from bloodlines and acceptance by the broader Indigenous community, rather than from self-identification.

In 2011, Mudrooroo returned to Australia with his wife and son, publishing a semi-autobiographical novel "Balga Boy Jackson" in 2017. He died in Brisbane in 2019. ...more

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Mudrooroo’s books

Average rating: 3.5 · 700 ratings · 76 reviews · 30 distinct works • Similar authors

	Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription For Enduring The Ending Of The World by Mudrooroo, Colin Johnson (Birth name) 3.58 avg rating — 148 ratings — published 1983 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Aboriginal Mythology: An A-Z Spanning the History of the Australian Aboriginal People from the Earliest Legends to the Present Day 3.77 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 1995 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Master of the Ghost Dreaming: A Novel by Mudrooroo, Narogin Mudrooroo 3.89 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 1991 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Balga Boy Jackson by Mudrooroo, Colin Johnson (Birth name) 3.31 avg rating — 16 ratings — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wildcat Screaming 3.54 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 1992 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Undying 3.18 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 1998 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Underground 3.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The promised land 3.40 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2000 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tripping with Jenny 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2019	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Mudrooroo’s Followers (10)

Mudrooroo

Combine EditionsMudrooroo’s books

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Mudrooroo’s books