Comfort Food

by Ellen Van Neerven

In this fresh and distinctive collection, Comfort Food offers a close inward focus and an exquisite sensitivity which bridge van Neerven's Indigenous and non-Indigenous heritage. The melding of cultural experiences offers access to a unique and vibrant bicultural experience. The textures and sensuality of the poems' imagery create a portrait of a young woman's life and her exploration of body and mind. A stunning poetry debut from an immensely talented author.

Genres: Poetry, Queer, Indigenous, LGBT, 21st Century, Australia, Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2016

About the author

Ellen van Neerven (they/them) is an award-winning author, editor and educator of Mununjali (Yugambeh language group) and Dutch heritage. They write fiction, poetry, and non-fiction on unceded Turrbal and Yuggera land. van Neerven’s first book, Heat and Light (UQP, 2014), a novel-in-stories, was the recipient of the David Unaipon Award, the Dobbie Literary Award and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Indigenous Writers Prize. van Neerven’s poetry collection Comfort Food (UQP, 2016) won the Tina Kane Emergent Award and was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Kenneth Slessor Prize. Throat (UQP, 2020) is the recipient of Book of the Year, the Kenneth Slessor Prize, and the Multicultural Award at 2021 NSW Literary Awards, and the inaugural Quentin Bryce Award.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellen van Neerven occupies a unique position as a writer of both Indigenous-Australian Munanjali, as well as Dutch, heritage. Her restless, dryly observant voice crisscrosses borders and identities - both internal and external - with an effortlessness and agelessness that far more established poets should envy.

(At p. 3, from "Whole Lot"):
"what we eat comes from our roots
if we stop sharing there will be nothing"

(At p.32, "Goan Fish Curry"):
"I also saw those spirit dogs
and poetry travelled with me
like rivers
I didn't ever eat alone"

(at p.40, from "Bricks and Lightning"):
"I am marked
drop a Google pin into my heart
like they say in Alice
when the Tod floods
must mean I'm staying."

(at p. 41, from "Cousins")
"Taking a break from my usual weekend warfare
I drive with my mother through the shifting rain
into Munanjali country
a roo bounds across the road
we meet at the pub and I order an
egg sandwich, orange muffin and a newspaper
on the last ten years of your life
We are cousins
though we grew up on different sides of the axis
different sides of the moon
got to remember
same grandmother
same grandmother."

(At p. 60, from "Please pause today"):
"I remember my grandfather today...
I remember he fought for this country, for our freedom...
Without citizenship, equal rights, equal pay...
Denied entry into RSLs, restaurants, taxis, another entry to the cinema....
He died without medals."

(At p. 76, from "Dalgay/Yugambeh Death Poem):
"I don't speak my language
but I speak yours
and I write it well"

(At p.77, from "Coconut Oil"):
"Freshwater woman, I am
Talgunn, Hairywoman, European, I am"

She holds her country and her dead very close and I absolutely loved that. A collection to savour.

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Comfort Food' is poetry that builds in strength as one reads on: ensnared by a language that is more collective than it is separate, a testament to how poems can weave together and make a world.

[Highlyeccentric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. I bought this last year after the author got a massive swathe of harrassment on social media following the appearance of one of her poems in the HSC english exam. I didn't actually like the poem very much, but thought I /would/ have as a teenager, and certainly it was by no means a poor choice for the exam. I've liked some of her work in Meanjin or Overland, so I ordered the collection.

By and large, I found it kind of... flat. Over-relying on line breaks, and often not particularly striking in wording or effect. I did notice that I liked more poems from the last third of the book than the first two - if it's organised chronologically (which I think it might be?), then I'm liking her work more and more as time goes on. 'Iris Brides' is particularly excellent - I don't understand it but I do like it a lot.

[iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 :)

[Ivy K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love to write poetry about food, so picking up this poetry collection from Ellen Van Neerven, I knew that it would be a good read for me – and it was! Admittedly, I did have to start reading some contemporary Australian poetry for one of my uni classes and this was the first collection I saw at the bookstore that piqued my interest. Whilst I did enjoy this poetry collection, I am lead to believe that the author may have stronger collections in their breadth of work and that is actually what I'll be moving on to reading next. Their poetry collection titled 'Throat' has received particular acclaim and I am keen to dive into that. This poetry collection had a lot of good moments, though I feel like it lacked connection with some sort of greater intertwining thread to sew together the different poems seamlessly. However, it is completely possible that this is just me reading this too late at night and not having the most amazing critical thinking skills at those hours. Overall, an enjoyable read!

[Sophia Mcdowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this on the train back from invasion day rallies and the 'share the spirit' festival, appreciating all the varied forms of Indigenous voice. I think this poetry collection is a lovely fusion between some core things that drive us; love, food, desire. I enjoyed the flow and arc of these poems and their openness and freshness. Blessings to Australia's first nations people on this very heavy day.

[Deb Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5stars. A wonderful little collection with some great imagery and turn of phrase. I especially liked “Pasta” about their parents (and in fact that whole section, including “Chips” about being bored by what’s not said) and “Whole Lot” written in response to Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s amazing painting, Big Yam Dreaming.
Sweet Note:
“the heart is open and oozing rhubarb
and this lover knows sex is custard
likes it without a recipe”

“I’ll never get the years back
With my grandmother.”

Fishing…”midwifes it in with the tide”

“Tonight I wanted you
like the rain wanted the streets”

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fortunate to attend the launch last Thursday of Ellen van Neerven's poetry collection Comfort Food (published by UQP). Madonna Duffy from UQP and Sam Wagan Watson - a renowned Indigeneous poet - along with Krissy Kneen, all spoke highly of Ellen's new work, with Sam using as many food-related analogies and metaphors as he could think of! This book is indeed food for the soul - a satisfying and sensual collection of poems, all relating to the theme of food, and bridging Ellen's Yugambeh heritage with her recent international travel experiences. Ellen has dedicated these poems to 'those who have made me meals', and with a menu (list of contents) including Finger Limes, Coffee in Toronto, Bagel, Tamale, Smoking Chutney and Goan Fish Curry, there is something for everyone.
In the collection, Ellen pays tribute to her Aboriginal ancestors with some beautifully and deceptively simple poems, some inspired by Indigeneous works of art. There are many subtle references to her people's connection to the land, and of course, to the traditional food that sustained them.
Here are a few excerpts that I particularly like:

'what we eat comes from our roots
if we stop sharing there will be nothing...'

'let me tell you with my skin
under the earth we will find
Whole Lot
it's all of those things...'

'she is of the bear people
so she's first to the berries
it is when original people are acknowledged
the room breathes easier for me
a preoccupation with absence...'

'This land heals all my city blues
I haven't the language for that
You read me after all this time
I haven't the language for that...'

'a pain low is your gut
a pain higher is your heart...'

I especially like the poem entitled Goan Fish Curry:

'I also saw those spirit dogs
and poetry travelled with me
like rivers
I didn't ever eat alone'

And the one entitled Please Pause Today, written about her grandfather and his experience of the war, is meaningful and poignant.

My friend, author Sally Piper, said she was looking forward to delving into Ellen's poetry because she (Sally) '...uses poetry like scales; warming up with the words...' before she writes. What a beautiful analogy. And Ellen's poetry does just that - reading it is like sipping from a warm bowl of soup or a nourishing broth; a wonderful combination of the here and now with the age-old; a notebook of observations that Ellen has made while travelling; a tribute to those who have walked the ground before her; the perfect reading material to limber up your mind for writing, gorgeous images to hold close to your chest, to breathe deeply, to inhale, to consume with gusto.

[Emkoshka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started the year with a 1076-page tome about the building of a Gothic cathedral in medieval England (The Pillars of the Earth) and have finished it with a 96-page poetry collection by a Dutch-Aboriginal young woman. Quite the shift! Unfortunately, this was one of the rare books I didn't enjoy. Poetry is already a challenging form and requires some effort from the author to lead the reader along with them. The last poetry collection I read, The Hijab Files was easy to immerse myself in despite the unfamiliarity of the culture presented. In this case, I felt quite dislocated and isolated from the author's words, like she was writing for herself only, describing events and anecdotes that only she could appreciate. The only poem I did genuinely connect with was 'Iris Brides'. So I didn't like Van Neerven's poetry, but I'm still holding out hope for her novel Heat and Light.

[Sarah Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intimate and evocative, yet bold. Hugely impressed with van Neerven's ability to contour language around the most subtle emotional registers and deep, complex layers of time and history in few, but hard-hitting words.

[elbow ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
some poems from this collection really stuck out, but i personally enjoyed throat more than comfort food. i think i connected more to the themes van neerven explores in that collection as they further understand their own identity.

[Susie Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

❤

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

'We are not here until we sit here
we sit in silence and we are open
there are different kinds of time
I hope you understand. ' From 'Whole lot'

Food is a comfort. It expresses culture:

'We cross the coloured creek
along a patient log
we walk towards frog calls
we walk away from winter

I want to stop on the way back
get some finger limes
I've been homesick for them.' From 'Finger limes'

Longing for family:

'I'll find ways to keep you, Mum
we'll be on a hard drive in the future
eating stamppot at the house in the bunya forest
with my father. ' From 'Stamppot'

Desire:

'If this is once a year, or once a few
I'll wait
like a mango tree.' From 'September'

In this collection from Mununjali Yugambeh poetry Ellen Van Neerven they explore themes of food around connection to land, grief for country, connection with family/friends and love/desire. The simplicity of their prose creates a poignancy that left me pausing, re-reading and looking for more.

'a pain low is your gut
a pain higher is your heart. From 'Stomach'

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t really know how to review this one as I don’t think I (or anyone) fully understand the full depth of these poems from this reading. Some were beautiful in their simplicity and others were clear in their emotion, others still were confusing and open to interpretation that I haven’t quite determined yet. I read another cries that the poet seems to be writing only for themself and this does feel true, but I wonder if that is because I do not have the same experiences as them, or if that is the intended effect of these poems - to create a bit of alienation for the reader?

I appreciated the references and inspirations included at the back of the text and next time may have to view the paintings alongside reading the poems - see what additional meaning is created. From this reading, my favourite poems were: Roo Tails (so much foreshadowing), Berries (loved the imagery of this one), Cousins (clear narrative within this one about family and expectation), Iris Brides (beautiful).

[Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Van Neerven has been on my watchlist since I read Heat and Light, but somehow I'd managed to completely miss this collection until now. These poems are thoughtful and beautifully composed, with some of my favourites being Whole Lot ('there are different kinds of time') and Meteorite ('sometimes you stare at the sky and wiish to be what you were').

I've got to add that the food title of some of the different poems made me extremely hungry...

[Lily Arapera · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favourite poetry collections. i first started reading their work in art writing class, van neerven had a really lovely way of speaking to a piece, something that i now keep in mind when i write to art. stamppot is my favourite poem of all. it is so beautiful and precious, it feels like it is mine, i read it all in one go after borrowing it from the library, i was in between south kensington and footscray reading and re reading. a lovely warm hug, and a sore throat from holding back tears. very very special.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very pleasant read. The poems can be taken as they were written or analyzed to involve the context of Neerven’s experience AND that’s when it gets to a strong and powerful voice. It’s a beauty.

[Misha]

leaving this unrated for now, but i appreciate the evocative writing the author possesses relying on strong imagery and sensorial experiences for the reader. among my favourite poems are 'Berries', 'Meteorite', and 'Fault'!

[Keira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love. I never really liked poems but when studying this in class I finally have found my love for poems. Not only that but it has decentered my European mindset (blame my lit teacher for the smart wording 😂) and I've finally been able to understand and analyse these poems to my full ability.

[Camille Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasure to read with such vivid language that evokes emotion through the imagery it creates.

[Harriet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection, my favourites were: Finger limes, Pie, Chips, Coffee in Toronto, Cashew tree, and September. Seriously considering getting a physical copy at some point!

[Philippa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such sensuous, interesting writing. Loved how she acknowledged artworks, songs and even tweets which inspired the poems.

[Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga · Rating 4 out of 5]

'can I say/white people really bore me sometimes' - from 'Chips'

[Emmysoo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh.

[Sodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

well, this fucken ruled. Ellen van neerven my new hero.

[Erin Kercher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favourites:

Finger Limes
Pasta
Bread
Chips
Comfort Food
Sweet Note 
Lullaby for a Shark
ETA
Five-Minute Meals
How My Heart Behaves
Coconut Oil

[jamdiet · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Australia’s lit’s top poets. Yugambeh death poem slaps.

[Jess Reason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a warm hug of culture. I felt apart of the family.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy the poems Comfort Food and Coconut Oil. The rest of the collection didn't quite do it for me.

[carly simone · Rating 1 out of 5]

did not connect with a single poem in this book.