Murriyang: Song of Time

by Stan Grant

Stan Grant is talking to his country in a new way. In his most poetic and inspiring work yet, the Wiradjuri writer offers us a means of moving beyond the binaries and embracing a path to peace and forgiveness rooted in the Wiradjuri spiritual practice of Yindyamarra – deep silence and respect.

Song of Time, in part Grant’s response to the Voice referendum, eschews politics for love. In this gorgeous, grace-filled book, he zooms out to reflect on the biggest questions, ranging across the history, literature, theology, music and art that has shaped him, setting aside anger for kindness, reaching past the secular to the sacred and transcendent.

Inspired by spiritual thinkers and sages from around the world, Grant finds connections with Plato, Saint Augustine, Isaac Newton, jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, Saint Teresa of Avila, Simone Weil, among others. Murriyang is a Wiradjuri prayer in one long uninterrupted breath, challenging Western notions of linear, historical time in favour of Indigenous concepts of deep, circular time – the Dreaming.

Murriyang is also very personal, each meditation interleaved with a memory of Grant’s father – a Wiradjuri cultural leader – and asking how any of us can say goodbye to those we love.

It is a book for our current moment, and something for the ages.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, History

257 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

About the author

Stan Grant is a journalist and the Charles Sturt University Vice- Chancellor’s Chair of Australian/Indigenous Belonging.

Reviews

[Alexandra Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh this was so so so beautiful. Not what I’m used to but I loved it.

[Cathy Hine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is outstanding. It is confronting. It is uncomfortable. It is comforting. There is a persistent invitation toward God, to love, to listen to see each other and to care in love. It is a haunting challenge to me as a white Australian, condemning in love. It is a prophetic book, in the line of Richard Rohr’s book I recently read, bringing together tears and lament and anger. So much to lean into so as to live for wholeness of not just myself but the world I am part of.

[Lucia · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are parts of this book that I loved, and I found my own thoughts and Catholic faith echoed back at me at many points throughout.

My main qualm with Murraying is that for a book which essentially argues for the centring of divine love (and goes as far as to claim to be a psalter), as a reader I could not feel much love or even devotion in it. There is a lot of poison and pain and lashing out at modernity, among other things (rightly so, might I add). More than anything there is a heavy sense of wrestling or justifying. Though Stan wants to walk away from all the evils that burdened his soul and for a time blocked his access to the divine (and the access of all humanity to the divine), he keeps wading back into the ring to fight against these phantoms. It is a pointless and exhausting exercise that he drags the reader into, rather than creating and inviting them into a space of faith, loving reflection, and peace.

At points in this book, Grant also seems to argue for faith, though personally I find this to be a fools errand (and sometimes when I see people do this it makes me wonder if they are not really trying to convince themselves). I’m of the Stephen Colbert school of thought: I’m not trying to convert anyone here. Anyway, God reveals himself to us not through argument but through life and love. Perhaps it Grant’s old professional reflex, the academic and journalistic impulse to construct the argument and cite the sources.

I also think that perhaps time as the central through-line or theme of the book may have been a misstep. I fear it pulls in too many directions (history, physics, etc), and makes the book feel at times too academic or too meandering. Because it is also a question that cannot be resolved, it never feels unifying for the book as a whole, for this “song of time”. And here again we find the wrestling: between time and God.

For me, anyway, I don’t really think of time when I think of God, and considerations of time are not what bring me closest to God (though I recognise that for others it may be different). For me, to discuss faith alongside science seems again to defeat the point. Not to say that they are mutually exclusive (they are not), but there is an irony in trying to justify the need for mystery by using the vehicle of science (science, from the Latin “scindere”, meaning to know, to cut, to split - to divide). Anyway, why are we justifying faith? Why are we forcing a distinction between God and time, while also arguing divisions are a source of evil? More importantly, why are we spending so many pages discussing Einstein or Bohr when God’s universal mercy and kingdom are far more worthy of our contemplation?

Again we find this wrestling, this contradiction: the scientific and philosophical disciples of the Enlightenment (and the self that is in dialogue with them) take up more real estate than the act of surrender to God. This is the bolstering of the self, not the emptying of it. Or maybe it is wrestling with the self. At any rate, understanding time or the universe or creation is not the same as understanding how to live out God’s love or be close to Him and his Kingdom. Bohr’s ideas may are interesting to my mind, but they are truly irrelevant to my soul.

The wrestling is found again with history and identity: trying to honour these while simultaneously “dismissing” them in the face of God’s capital T “Truth”. (Sidebar: love is most felt in this book when Grant is discussing his love for his family and his community.)

I sometimes wondered who the intended audience for this book was. Aboriginal people? Christians? Atheists? Journalists? Those who voted “no”? Those who voted “yes”? Fans of Stan Grant, like me? Is it simply biography? Its somewhat disjointed nature makes me think that it was potentially trying to serve too many masters, including addressing Grant’s own critics.

Maybe the book was meant for Grant himself. I don’t think that the Stan Grant who wrote this book was a fully healed Stan, at least not yet. I suspect writing this book was part of the process of healing (this would explain the sense of wrestling). I personally have a lot of time and respect for Grant, and truly hope and pray that he found his way to healing and peace in the end.

[Leddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful and grief stricken book full of pockets of profound hope. Stan Grant explores his spirituality after leaving journalism and stepping away from discussing politics after the failed voice referendum. I have dog tagged several pages to refer back to, if needed, to sentences and paragraphs that are brimming with hopeful meaning after acts of ungodliness where we start to question our own humanity. I’m not in the least bit religious, but this book doesn’t put me off at all. The way that Stan helps the reader understand that when politics and identity fails us, we need to focus to find the God or find the hope in our humanity because it is always there.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book raw with pain and grief, and it wasn’t the right time for me to read it. I struggled to connect with his writing and ideas, and so many of his ideas were beyond my understanding. I hope I re-read this when I have more time and headspace to allow the messages to sink in.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part laments, part reflections. It is so privileged to read how one bears their soul so much, and really allow you to understand where he’s from. There is really so much hurts to his life and to how his family were treated.

However, I can only give it a three within the context of the wider political issue. Preamble: I truly feel sorrowful over the hurt and the pain he lived through, and in many ways I now understand how all these has affected his worldview. I have also listened to his recent podcast on ‘life and faith’ talking about this book, which is how I got to it, and it is a very good companion piece to listen to for more background.

I appreciate how he identifies what he sees as a problem, but doesn’t really provide a solution. He talks of listening which I think means he wants the readers to hear his story (which is done beautifully) but I am not sure if he has truly heard the many other perspectives (not one, not two, but multitudes). I am also not sure if he truly has shifted in what he thinks a solution will involve.

Ultimately, I think this is a book he needed to write and express himself, and while I am glad to have share in his journey, I am not sure I came out of this wiser. But again, maybe that is the goal of this book.

[kaitlyns_library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written.

[Bec · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We think history is something grand, but it is very small, it is small enough to fit into a teardrop"

"We cannot trust the truth to television"

[Penny Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stan Grant describes this book as a psalter and I found the description apt. Like the psalter all of human life is here- joy and pain, struggle and anger alongside praise and wonder. It is deeply personal yet brings so much wisdom from the breadth of both Christian and Aboriginal culture. It invites the reader to their own wrestling with what truly matters. The writing is in places poetic, in other places raw in its lament but always relatable and at depth filled with hope.

[MelD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't do this book justice but it is a beautiful read, there's grief, sorrow, hope and love. And God. There's much to contemplate and learn in these pages.
"Yindyamarra Winanganha - to live with respect in a world worth living in"

[Ruza · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a tuff read, and Stan helps me understand why this is a tuff book to read.

At one point he writes that today “Poetry, once lyrical, is now obscurantist wordplay, written to be heard but not felt - poetry that slams.” But all the way through the book there is “obscurantist wordplay”.

And where is the love in a paragraph that is completely down on the arts of today:
“Rarely in human history have people boasting such meagre achievements been so eager to celebrate it. For evidence, look at what we call art, obsessed with shock value over aesthetic beauty; music derivative, nostalgic and banal; architecture is functional but rarely awe-inspiring.”

Isn’t aesthetic beauty subjective? And who gets to define what music is banal! If it is not for your ear, it doesn’t make it banal. There might be a reason that architecture is functional, there is a lot more of us than in the olden days. But again isn’t appreciation of the arts subjective? Who gets to say it is good or “banal” for everyone.

Stan might need god to be ok, but I don’t need to be told that if I am an atheist, I cannot be a good person. That I don’t know how to treat people the way I would want to be treated. That I don’t have the humanity that would elevate me to Stan’s persona with god. And yes I voted YES even without god, because YES vote was the right thing for my conscience.

[pixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

i am only halfway through this book but here are my thoughts so far

I adored much of this book: in grieving his father, Stan Grant shares a beautiful memory of his father - hardworking, selfless, forgiving, devoted to his family, and deeply rooted in his Wiradjuri identity. He also reflects my love for God in how he is most fully alive, as if in the new creation, while at church.

I struggle, however, with the paradoxes in this book. It’s as if Grant’s soul is trapped and this book is his attempt at reconciling himself with the innocence of his childhood. He writes as if he is fully healed and having reached a place of ‘yindyamarra,’ however if one reads past those words, Grant’s inner torment is revealed.

He loves God, yet skews God to fit into his aboriginal culture. He struggles with the notion that God could discount his culture and therefore creates a new God - half biblical, half Dreamtime (for example his story about God being in Orion’s Belt, or that aboriginal teaching says that all children are placed in the womb the way Jesus was in Mary, however the transcendent nature of Christ’s birth is that it defies the laws of nature). He rejects modernity and yet uses science to prove God’s existence, while also rejecting reason in pursuit of wonder.

There was a few bits of the book which made me giggle: “Dad had a smell about him, sweat mixed with sawdust… It was the smell of a man - am I allowed to say that today?” Grant chooses to reflect his society in a way that almost shames the progress of the LGBTQ community, while simultaneously writing a book about why we need progress toward the yes vote in parliament. It also made me laugh that he stole his dad’s pineapple juice - I wonder if he noticed? It did remind me of a study, though, in which people who had undergone traumatic experiences cling tightly to the beliefs they formed as a result of it in order to feel as though the experience was purposeful, however even when their belief is invalid they refuse to see another point of view… was it just pineapple juice or did his father truly taste freedom in his daily sweet treat?

I think this book is his way of grieving his father and in truth his only intended audience was himself; it is his diary. That being said, I do love the bits set aside from science because if you hear the song of his book rather than just his words, you hear his emotion and truth.

[Marles Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We should see that to be human is miraculous, we are an impossibility made real. We should know by now that there is no time or history, not before or after; we are a daisy-chain of dreams, all of humanity forever until forever as vast and mysterious as the universe we inhabit.”
This book is a meditation on hope, love, spirituality, and lamentation. It is a book of reflection and deep expression, and ut is one to sit and read and prcesss. It needs time to sit within. It is a place to feel the comfort of love and hope, and comprehend the barriers that can arise. And reading this book during NAIDOC Week, it lends itself to the legacy of unity, respect, and self-determination: it acknowledges achievements of the past, a brighter future ahead, the strength of First Nations leaders, and the legacy of ancestors.
In this book, Stan Grant explored the tragedies of the world, and the failure of the recent referendum in Austalia, and looked to love as the power to keep us all going. The book moved between Murriyang (the Skyworld) and Babiin (father, in Wiradjuri language). In the Babiin sectons, these are the moments of tie where Grant recalls his father, where the hardest of heartaches were explored in their relationship. They was such a beautiful undestanding to the life expereinces of his father, that made him the father to Grant an the leader he was. It was the love for his father than sang out through such personal and poetic words.
In the Murriyang sections, there is much more exploration of the sadness of the world, and the strength that hope and love will carry all of us forward: “Humanity’s crime is not the state of the world; history shows us we can recover. Our sin is the enthusiasm for hopelessness. Politics is preferred to hope; hope is subject to identity – there can be no hope when we see other people as our enemy – hope must be the belief that together, we can defat evil.” These sections lend themselves to the many Wiradjuri lessoons and practices of life: from the pas, here now and, everafter. It is also a heartfelf reflection on the sadness of life after the referendumm result, where society has become so absorbed in the “harvest of likes” rather than makig connections so we can all “live with respect in a world worth living in”. And at the same time, there is a yearning for a hope-filled life for us all to experience in wonder when our hearts and minds are closest to what we truly believe in.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book with a timely message for the need to pull away from the binary arguments dividing us. I was privileged to get to hear him in conversation with Anton Ennis at Adelaide's Writer's Week - our book festival. He describes in brief, the horrors he's witnessed around the globe in wars and terrorist attacks that come from this binary dichotomy. Dr Grant illustrates his arguements with quotes from many philosophers and scientists through the ages from Aristotle to Heidegger, from Newton to Einstein. It is a beautiful meditation in living and showing love in making a case for your beliefs in conversation. He has found peace living back on country that no matter how the political winds blow, cannot be taken from him and he takes strength from his and his peoples ancestors and struggle. He has retreated to this upon realizing when Australia's population rejected the offer of friendship and need for recognition in the recent referendum saying: "black and white are not ready to let each other in." In the days following he couldn't bear to listen to the prattle and vacuous punditry of "politicians who can't bear too much truth." And he especially drew solace from the writings and paintings of David Mawaljarlai, a senior traditional lawman of the Ngarinyin people in the West Kimberley, Western Australia.

[Philippa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stan Grant begins this book noting it is a “contemplation of the sacred: of time, God and my Father.”
It is very much a meditation on his life and all that has happened over the years. The Voice referendum has just been lost. He has suffered severe backlash for his comments made on the occasion of King Charles crowning. He has stepped down from moderating Q&A on the ABC. How does he as a proud Indigenous man deal with all this and more?

Stan Grants reflections on his family, specifically his Dad are wonderful, filled with love, joy, sadness and insight. They are precious.

Stan Grants reflections on society are filled with his wide reading and thinking through various philosophical view points. He is not impressed with modernity or identity in any of its forms. He writes “ Thankfully it won’t last; we are watching the end of this five-century experiment of the self.” (P248) Instead he finds that it is in the ability to love, to reach out to the weak and vulnerable that we find salvation, and indeed God. “ I had thought that speaking the truth was enough, but without love, the truth becomes another weapon.” (P238)

Stan Grants grappling with God and the nature of God are the essence of this book. A wonderful personal account in to the thinking of a prophet of our times.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A limited biography, Murriyang: Song of Time (2024) by Stan Grant (2024) is a self-reflection of an indigenous Australian and his spirituality in the context of the negative Referendum vote on Indigenous Recognition in the Constitution. It opens with a lengthy prayer of supplication and switches between two alternative descriptions – Babiin (Stan’s relationship with his father) and Murriyang (rational analysis of his faith and its philosophical and indigenous underpinnings). A poignant revelation of Stan’s musings on Aristotle, Aquinas, Augustine and numerous other influences, poets, music, science and time, culminate in an honest appraisal of his personal struggles and his need to walk away from journalism. The pain is clear for all to see in the insightful thoughts of a man who walks in two worlds, facing his existential angst and life’s ultimate question – who am I? Overall, a powerfully direct account of Stan’s exploration of identity, nationhood and belonging from a personal perspective that is a four and a half star read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

[Jenny Esots · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having heard Stan Grant speak at the most recent Adelaide Writers Festival on the writing of this book, in addition to reading On Identity I see Grant continually questioning his life, career, ancestry, family, and in particular his father, Australian attitudes towards indigenous people and bigger theological questions.
This book is deeply theological in nature. Grant is talking about God while referencing all the thinkers, poets, theologians, writers and musicians who have reflected on the nature of a loving God.
Grant seeks an assurity that God's love and grace are in all things, which he proclaims, but clearly struggles to reconcile with the systems, media and politics that profoundly hurt indigenous people, including the most recent gruelling and bruising voice to parliament debate and referendum.
It saddens me to hear of deeply compassionate indigenous people, like Stan Grant, who in offering out their hand to walk with Australian people, generously and graciously, were slapped down via the No vote. And yet here they are still offering their hand, not attributing blame, but the hurt is clearly still raw. As Grant says is his lament. Lord I wait.

[Robert Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an atheist I found this a challenging read, but I wanted to sit with it and absorb the wisdom of Stan Grant, a man I have admired. His contemplation of time, the physics of relativity and quantum mechanics seems at odds with his deep faith in God. He uses the word scientism, which I have not heard before, and I think he is referring to his opinion that Science takes away the mystery and awe of God’s creation. I am sure that one can wonder at the remarkable world we live in without a God. One can be awed and thankful that we are so lucky to be here.
I found the best parts of the book were his reflections on his parents in the sections titled “Babiin”. These were personal and deeply affecting.
It is very sad that Stan Grant is so burnt out and dismayed at the state of our world, its violence and hatred, racism and selfishness, and yet somehow his faith supports him. The voice referendum result was a tragic result for the first peoples of this nation and Stan’s bitterness and resignation is easy to understand.

[Maja Skrlj-Tufegdzic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, poetic, spiritual, peaceful reflection of 2023 Indigenous Voice referendum ….

Stan invites us to grieve and trust, to struggle and believe, to reach for love in the absence of love…. Remember,’ he says, ‘my land loves you.’

He shares with us “ Wiradjuri language teaches you where you are; we are where, not who… History we experience in space, not time – we inhabit history. When we tell our stories, we begin with where, not when.”

I love his meditation on time …
“Is time a dream state or is time an overlord and our dreams mere fantasy…?
Time happens in the spaces the clock does not count.“
When he sets the time on repeat to relive sweet moments of his memory with his mum&dad…. I cry …

When he says “forgiveness is like water, it softens us and washes us clean”, I see waterfall….

When he speaks of active love, the one of labour and perseverance, First Nation’s sacred silence days after the referendum…. I wonder … how much more love is needed?

[Kevin Doherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having already read ‘The Queen is Dead’ and ‘Talking to my Country’, Stan Grant is someone I have admired for his wholly unapologetic stance on Australia today.

As a Brit, on a WHV in the mid 90s, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in (and other visits to) Australia (forging a special place in my heart) and yet I only too sadly see its deeply troubled past and its many persistent divisions today.

‘Murriyang’ was definitely a very different stance, softer and more compassionate…not being religious myself but respectful of the sustenance religion brings, I enjoyed the reflections, sections for Babiin and many knowledgeable musings…I even contemplated how religion/ theism is for others and what it means for them and for Stan as a Wiradjuri man, on country…(I can still be very curious…).

I wish Stan and his parents all the very best and appreciated this stirring and more peaceful contemplation. 👏

[L.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone previously unfamiliar with Grant’s written work, this collection took my breath away and held it in a gentle yet heart-wrenching grasp.

I’m not religious (agnostic, on the best days) but the insights into his faith, the presence of God and how love and truth are necessary, always but even more so today - just wow.

The only thing I disliked (if I have to phrase it this way) is the slight “kids these days with their phones and AI” tangents. I understand that these thoughts come from a genuine place of wanting better understanding amongst people, however, the phrasing wasn’t the best in parts.

Still, I give it 5 stars for the sheer amount of passages that gave me pause - as a white settler in Australia who is non-religious, but also reading it as one person speaking to another.

[Ally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never written a review before but felt compelled to do so with Murriyang.
I was so touched by this book. while I am not scholarly in any fashion, i will try my best to share my thoughts. The authors human-ness, reflection, humanity, vulnerability and pain moved me on so many occasions while reading this. The way Stan shared his relationship with his father, his family, spirituality, culture with such intimacy, all were just beautiful. I especially loved Stan's reflection on the referendum and felt transported to the heartache and grief of this time. something i am still processing in my personal life. It was refreshing to read a book that stepped away from labels, identity, politics and spoke of other ways of knowing and being in the world ... time, God, faith, physics ... a wonderful discussion/meditation- thank you.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, more than anything is an ode to Stan Grant's father, and the beliefs and way of life that shapes him through his parents, his mob and his Country.

I have, for a long time, wondered how Stan Grant was able to come from such a position of love and grace given what Indigenous people in Australia have faced and continued to face. This book answers that question.

He weaves thoughts and stories about time, science, and provides critique of modernity, convenience, politics, journalism, and the transactional nature of life - to the detriment of art and poetry. It is a heartfelt memoir and reflection, beautifully written.

Stan is a deep thinker, a believer and a poet.

[Rebecca Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Murriyang - mostly because I didn't feel I was being nagged at or lectured to! I've felt in the past Stan Grant has the propensity to chip away like a woodpecker until I feel angry and berated, but this book was more elegiac. Most times I felt like I was meandering down a gentle stream, being let into some of Grant's most personal thoughts and feelings. There were instances where I thought things got a little too philosophical and there were some moments of going around in circles, but for the most part I really enjoyed the reminiscence.

[Jane (Avid reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book - raw with pain and grief but also full of hope, wisdom, faith and love. Powerful.

Quotes:

I will breathe in the stars, let time slide, hold onto the eternal now, and save my tears because death is not the end.

I think I never knew Dad until I heard him speaking, as he always should be, in a place by the river where there is no time.

Now I accept that each hour I spent away was an hour closer to saying goodbye to the two people I thought I would have forever.

When you go dad, you will never be gone.

[Denise Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://denisenewtonwrites.com/?p=6556

First up: a confession. This is one of the most difficult blog posts I have written about a book. Mostly because I have found it hard to put into words what I think – and more importantly, feel – about this particular book.

It is beautiful.

It is challenging.

It is in turn confronting, comforting, confusing.

Stan Grant

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stan Grant, a Wiradjuri writer, shares his spiritual belief as he tries to make sense of the world that has encompassed his life. As a journalist he has seen the worst of the worst in wars, death and destruction and he has entered in the hurt of vitriolic political debate. This book is his response to find peace, love, grace , gratitude referencing from.his broad and deep range of philosophers, musicians, and his understanding of God /Baiyame. So much more to reflect on.

[Beth Sheehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stan Grant is such an eloquent writer.
In his story as he navigates the ‘no’ vote in the Voice to Parliament, he weaves his story with his father as well as describing his relationship with his God .
Whether you believe in a higher being or not, this book is thought provoking as well as highlighting to all Australians how far we still have to go until we can all walk humbly together .

[Sharon Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most beautiful book I have read in a life-time. Stan Grant is transparent in his sharing of his soul. Truly, a must-read in this crazy world in which we live of politics, false news, and deception. Stan has turned his back on politics and the media and is in search of a higher truth.

[Geetha Chandran · Rating 4 out of 5]

it took me a while to read this. i needed time to stop and processs along the way. I think thats how its meant to be read" a meditation on time and the creator" followed by a reflection on Stans father. A poem. A plea to look at the God of love, Jesus , who made the stars and who here in our with Hid people before the ships. Its beautiful, sad, optimistic, uplifting.
Hardback .