Ruby Moonlight

by Ali Cobby Eckermann

Ruby Moonlight, a novel of the impact of colonisation in mid north South Australia around 1880. The main character, Ruby, refugee of a massacre, shelters in the woods where she befriends an Irishman trapper.

The poems convey how fear of discovery is overcome by the need for human contact which, in a tense unravelling of events, is forcibly challenged by an Aboriginal lawman. The natural world is richly observed and Ruby's courtship is measured by the turning of the seasons.

Genres: Poetry, Australia, Indigenous, Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Young Adult

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Ali Cobby Eckermann is a Yankunytjatjara / Kokatha kunga (woman) born on Kaurna land in 1963. As a baby Ali was adopted into the Eckermann family. After failed attempts she was assisted by Link Up to find her mother Audrey, and four years later her son Jonnie. Her journey was supported by many members of the Stolen Generations. She regularly visits her traditional family in rural and remote South Australia; to learn and to heal. After nearly thirty years in the Northern Territory, Ali chooses to live in the ‘intervention-free’ village of Koolunga, South Australia, where she is renovating the old general store and establishing an Aboriginal Writers Retreat.

Ali Cobby Eckermann enjoyed great success with her first collection of poetry, little bit long time. Her poetry reflects her journey to reconnect with her Yankunytjatjara / Kokatha family. Other collections include Kami and Love Dreaming and Other Poems, published by Vagabond Press.

Her first verse novel, His Father’s Eyes, was published in 2011 by Oxford University Press. Her second verse novel, Ruby Moonlight, published by Magabala Books, won the 2011 inaugural kuril dhagun Manuscript Editing Award and the 2012 Deadly Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature.

She has been featured on Poetica, ABC Message Stick, and on the Poetry International Website. In 2010 she performed at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in Bali, and in 2012 at the Reaching The World Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. Too Afraid to Cry is her much anticipated memoir.

Reviews

[Claude's Bookzone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written journey of loss, love and finding your true path.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book by this amazing author that I have had the privilege of experiencing. As with the other verse novel, "His Father's Eyes" I have read it a second time aloud to fully appreciate the flow of the words

And what incredible words used in such a powerful way. From the balance of the first few stories, Nature, Harmony, Morning, that are so gentle and beautiful. Then onto the tension the builds with Warning, to the full horror that is Ambush, and then into Silence, the story of this young woman builds.

Each poem story stands powerfully on its own, but read as a novel the immense power is breathtaking.

Yes I enjoyed this. Yes I will read anything I can get my hands on from this lady. Yes, I wish the whole of Australia would read her work and understand

To quote from the back-cover blurb by Samuel Wagan Watson " Ali Cobby Eckermann conjures a lyrical and unique imagining of the past. A powerful wordsmith and surgical factotum of the struggle to maintain Indigenous voices in Australian Writing, she carries a similar torch to the late Oodgeroo"

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

her campfire will remain eternal
conflict between love and hate will turn to ash
dying embers are carried by coolamon
tradition meanders a well-worn path along a comforting river

Cobby Eckerman's style, which elucidates grand themes and emotions through very specifically described moments, is well suited to verse novel. This is, in short (and short it is) brilliant, and extremely accessible for those not (yet) lovers of poetry. I hope this makes its way into school curriculums., and it isn't going to waste the time of anyone who picks it up.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished: 24.11.2020
Genre: poetry
Rating: A+++++++++
#AusReadingMonth2020
Conclusion:

Another gem!!
68 pages
30-35 min reading time
...time well spent!

My Thoughts

[Bj · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time reading this author. I was not disappointed. The topic was painful but presented clearly and with honesty. Ali said much in few words. A good start for those wanting to know more of Australia's real history. She could have majored on the gruesome but in her maturity chose not to. A must read for all High Schools

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Endearing.

[Emory Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through few words, carefully selected, this verse novel paints scenery and emotion as we follow Ruby's journey after losing family, but seeking companionship.

[Emily Wrayburn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review originally posted on A Keyboard and an Open Mind November 2, 2018:

Every time I read a book of poetry, I start my review with “so I don’t read a lot of poetry…” and I want to give that disclaimer again. Going by the other reviews of this book, people who read poetry regularly liked it a lot more than I do, so their reviews probably have more standing than mine. But I still wanted to express my thoughts.

For a start, at 70 pages, this is a very short book, and the poems rarely take up the whole page. I found it hard to truly connect to the characters as there wasn’t a huge amount of detail. I would have liked to see more of Ruby’s interaction with the spirit that was watching over her, and more of a development of the relationship between Ruby and Jack. There were also sections where I wasn’t entirely sure whose side I was supposed to be on, or how I should feel, and I was left feeling conflicted and unsatisfied.

And… well, this is possibly the controversial bit. It didn’t feel like poetry? It just felt like the author had written sentences and then added random line breaks. Like I said, I don’t read a lot of it, but I always felt there should be a bit more to it than that. I tried reading parts out loud to try to grasp the flow but even then I didn’t really get it. Maybe I just don’t get it overall?

This review is part of my 2018 Australian Women Writers Challenge. Click here for more information.

[Deb Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful and poignant and depressing. Apparently the genre is ‘verse novel’ which is a new description for me but fits a few special ‘poetry’ books I’ve read. So much depth to these verses and the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Forbidden love. But more than that, connection. Haunting. Exceptional.

Dark

nightmares from the bed
tossing and turning
untold tales

he snaps from slumber
his green eyes search the dark
his breath slows

he grabs dry clothes
tried to light his pipe
but the flint wont work

he wanders outside
to his campfire
rigid in the sunlight

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

Stunningly beautiful story told through poetry. It was heartbreaking, as colonisation stories tend to be, but the way it was written made everything seem like it would be okay. Such a powerful poetry collection and I can't wait to read more from this amazingly talented Indigenous author.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful novel in verse. Often, it is what's 'not' on the page as well as what's 'on' the page. A perfect amount of white space. A moving expression of personal heartache by Ali Cobby Eckermann.

[chlo ✰ · Rating 3 out of 5]

school book :// still interesting though tbh

(if you see me adding this december 25 to save my reading challenge from falling behind no u don't <3)

[Belle]

I enjoyed this book but I don’t give star ratings to poetry. A lovely story that had so much meaning and depth, I definitely would like to read more from this author.

[Kate Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully brutal historical verse novel set during the early invasion of South Australia about loss, companionship, ignorance and care

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in a gasp. Memorable storytelling through interconnected poems. The brutality and humanity laid bare.

[Catherine Maughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met the author Ali Cobby Eckermann last week at the NT Writers Festival 'Eye of the Storm' and just had to buy her memoir "Too Afraid to Cry" which was the most amazing book I think I've ever read. A combination of prose and poetry it deserves it's own review so I'll leave that for another story....

But after reading "Too afraid..." and yet again back in my favourite book store RED KANGAROO BOOKS in Todd St Mall, Alice Springs I had to also buy "Ruby Moonlight" which Ali describes as 'a novel of the impact of colonisation in mid-north South Australia around 1880'.

I was intrigued because the book is written as poetry which to my uncultured mind is a completely different genre than a novel. But Ali is true to her word and it is indeed a novel (or maybe a novella?) written as poetry....

a feathery mandala
has been set
around the campfire

after checking the clearing
Jack scoops up the feather
hurling them into the fire

he returns inside to her
ignoring the warning

he does not want to lose
this ebony joy

he does not want to return
to the existence of loneliness

he does not want to hear
his mother's song fade

but Ruby is already gone
her heart has closed

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy verse novels but don’t read them often enough to build up a comprehensive understanding of the form. Eckermann’s Ruby Moonlight is the shortest and sparest of those I’ve reviewed on this blog, but its narrative is just as strong. It is set in colonial South Australia – the not-very-poetic subtitle being “a novel of the impact of colonisation in mid-north South Australia around 1880 – and tells the story of Aboriginal teenage girl, Ruby Moonlight, whose family is massacred by white settlers. The novel reads like a classic three-act drama. It opens with the massacre and Ruby’s lonely wanderings, and then moves into a somewhat idyllic phase when Ruby meets the also lonely “colourless man”, Miner Jack. They become friends and lovers, giving each other the company and warmth they both so desire. But it can’t last, of course, not in that place and time, because neither the colonisers nor the Aboriginal lawmen will accept it: “it is the oasis of isolation/that tolerates this union”. Nothing else.

For my full review, please see: https://whisperinggums.com/2016/07/08...

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruby Moonlight was an unexpected book for me. A friend at work recommended it because she knows I like poetry, and she totally nailed it. This is a remarkable verse novel. Economical with its language, it nonetheless manages to be exquisitely evocative of both place and emotion. Eckermann's connection to the natural world is deep and profound and she connects the woman at the centre of this story to it really well. A doomed relationship set against the backdrop of ignorance and colonialist racism is completely believable and devastating.
I would recommend this to anyone studying the impact of white colonialism on the indigenous population of Australia (indeed, any nation), and those who value every story, no matter who tells it.
Ages 13 and up.

[Cheyenne Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and powerful in its simplicity. A dark story of Australia's shameful history told in verse. But there's love and the seeds of how things are coming to be in this story.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a series of interwoven poems telling the story of Ruby Moonlight, who lives in mid north South Australia in Ngadjuri land.

Ruby's family group sit around the fire on their native land and sense something is different:

'In gesture language
the old man signals sshhh!
the air is wrong!'

And then:

'the meeting erupts
in a bird storm

strange animals and pale men
burst from the river.'

Only Ruby survives the massacre:

'a young woman sits like rock
staring at her husband and mother
their bodies turned tombstone'

'this survivor is lubra
of the Shadow tribe

who has lived here
since time began'

So she is alone and in her grief follows the only truth she can rely on:

'senses shattered by loss
she staggers to follow bird song
trust nature'

'awakening from the deep trauma of tragedy
she whispers away the nightmares
drives out forbidden memory with smoke'

'at last the woman rests her weariness
rests her grief
and smells rain'

So this is Ruby's journey to find a place after such devastation, that leads her to a twist in the path. A shared moment of loneliness and humanity. The poetry is as pure as the land it crafts and the spirits of the people who lived and live. It humbles to read such prose.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful piece of art. Ruby Moonlight is a novel that tells a rich story, even though it is quite short and made of sparse, interconnecting poems. I often struggle to connect with poetry but found this collection very touching.

Eckermann tells a familiar story about frontier violence in Australia. But her poems add so much depth and perspective, filling in details from four different points of view. It is hard to say much more about the plot without giving lots away, but Eckermann builds suspense as well as captures so much emotion within her pages.

[Gretchen Bernet-Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written and well presented little book with pages that made me smile, cringe, turn away, think reflectively and muse on each perfect word which created such a vivid impression in my mind's eye. Historical parts were skin-crawling in their truth; other pages held such natural splendour that it was hard to believe there were only a handful of words on the page. Each composition is a world unto itself and Ali Cobby Eckermann has certainly created a unique little masterpiece of colonialism and human emotion.

[Patty Guthrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short collection of poetry based on the slaughter of Aboriginal people during colonisation. There are some words written in what I assume is Eckerman’s native tongue, translated down the bottom. Really beautiful, and heartbreaking, it tells the story from the perspective of an Aboriginal woman who falls in love with a white man, but watches as her tribe is killed and other groups don’t trust her because of her relationship with the man.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a privilege to read this book.

A masterful wordsmith. These poems express whole worlds in such gentle, considered and lyrical
language. This is a novel in verse, and all the way throughout I felt I was holding, witnessing, allowed to share in the gift of story.
Heart-breaking and beautiful.

I highly recommend.

[Ms Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short novel in verse story by acclaimed writer Ali Cobby Eckerman, telling of the destruction caused by the systematic and government sanctioned slaughter and massacre of Aboriginals. Ruby survives one of these slaughters and later develops a relationship with Irish Jack, another outcast. This is sparse, simply written. My favourite verse was “Birds”. I think it was the repetition.

[Lily]

Written in poems, Ruby Moonlight tells the tale of a South-Australian Indigenous woman whose entire family is massacred, and her time living with a white man.

I'm not sure what to rate this. I don't usually read poetry, but the story and the message were so raw.
It's also a very quick read so I do recommend.

[Nyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for school

I probably enjoyed it more than I usually would have because we explored many of the poems and I got to discover the hidden meanings/symbolism used, plus it was fun doing the annotations. I honestly don't read much poetry so this was a new experience for me.

Good read, and certainly one of the better English book studies.

[Imogen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read aloud in one sitting - this poetic narrative was truly enchanting and engaging. Ali Cobby Eckerman’s poetry is beautiful, a sparse and exquisite form that invites you into world that white Australia has tried and failed to destroy.

[Ksboydie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Verse books are becoming more popular and I would like to see if students respond well to them. I thought this was a powerful and compelling read. I read it with a sense terrible things would occur but there was also hope and beauty. I’m very glad I read this book.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eckermann Exercises #4
Fourth book from this biddy is a very interesting series of poems to form a short novel. It is not always readily understood, but it is always thought provoking and interesting. Worth reading and I will continue to explore her oeuvre.