Anonymous Premonition

by Yvette Holt

From an authentic, powerful indigenous voice comes this body of poetry that examines issues of identity and culture from a woman's point of view. Lyrical yet radical, uplifting yet uncompromising, this collection evokes pride, painful memories, the realities of Aboriginal life and death, and the power of sisterhood to act as a tribute to the resiliency of Aboriginal women everywhere.

Genres: Poetry

97 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Kylie Purdie · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the record I'm not a classics girls for poetry - no Keats or Cummings here - too much hard work. I like my poetry modern. Modern themes, modern phrasing. Poetry to me is most probably one of the most personal forms of writing and reading. If the words on the page don't sing to you, there is no point. You should never have to wade through poetry - it should jump off the page and embed itself in your soul.
There are a few things that attracted me to Yvette Holt's slim anthology. It's a collection of poetry written from such a personal stand point. It won the David Unaipon Award and the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, and the bits I read as I flicked through were beautiful. Holt is a member of the Bidjara Nation, a group of indigenous Australians from Queensland.
Her poetry reflects her life growing up and her experiences as a woman, a mother and an Indigenous Australian. Her poetry gave me a small glimpse into her world, while reminding me that I can watch her struggles, sympathise with them, but I cannot share them. I can however, be incredulous (and incredibly amazed by some peoples audacity and small mindedness) about some of the experiences she has had.
This to me is poetry at it's best. It speaks to the reader personally, bares the soul of the writer and allows a connection between the two.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy winner of the 2005 David Unaipon Award, an Australian literary award for unpublished Indigenous and TSI writers.
This poetry collection has some familiar Australian scenes and is sometimes on the edge of extreme emotions.
This is my first reading but won't be my last, I'll keep it on my shelves to dip into now and then.

[Jaq · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some exceptional poems that still linger. Especially potent for on why we need to close the gap now. Found a few poems confusing....

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

goosebumps

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few really powerful poems but overall I didn’t really understand anything.