Homecoming

by Elfie Shiosaki

Our grandmothers' stories teach us about Aboriginal women's ways of being in our many worlds. Some of the stories in this collection are held in spoken histories, others in archival material, recontextualised with living katitjin. Some are held in my imagination. They are fragments of the many stars in my grandmothers' constellations. I track my grandmothers' stars to find my bidi home.

Homecoming pieces together fragments of stories about four generations of Noongar women and explores how they navigated the changing landscapes of colonisation, protectionism, and assimilation to hold their families together.

This seminal collection of poetry, prose and historical colonial archives, tells First Nations truths of unending love for children — those that were present, those taken, those hidden and those that ultimately stood in the light.

Homecoming speaks to the intergenerational dialogue about Country, kin and culture. This elegant and extraordinary form of restorative story work amplifies Aboriginal women's voices, and enables four generations of women to speak for themselves. This sublime debut highlights the tenacity of family as well as First Nation's agency to resist, survive and renew.

Genres: Poetry, Memoir, Australia, Nonfiction, Indigenous, History

155 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Four generations of Noongar women in this story. I am the sixth.’

I was fortunate enough to win a copy of this book in a giveaway conducted by Lisa https://anzlitlovers.com/ and I have been dipping in and out, reading, reflecting and revisiting over the past few weeks.

This book pieces together fragments of stories in poetry and prose and from historical colonial archives to provide a word picture of historical truth for four generations of Noongar women. There are three sections:

Resist
Survive
Renew

Each section takes us into a past that many of us have absolutely no idea about, or chose to ignore:

‘Mary Alice
She made herself visible
For great consequence

In a world which made her invisible.’

The layout of this book with its spaces between thoughts and words slows down the reader, inviting us to think about what we are reading, about the lives and experiences being described.

How, with all the difficulties placed in front of them, with policies of protectionism and assimilation almost destroying family and cultural practices, did these women survive?
What does it say about us, the colonisers, that we sought to destroy what we didn’t understand and to force our own values?

I read on and am struck by the resilience of the storytellers and their commitment to sharing.
Read this book and hear their voices, reflect on their memories, and feel their strength.
Elfie Shiosaki is a Noongar and Yawuru writer from WA.

Thank you, Lisa. This book lives on my keeper shelf.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Vannessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and exciting use of oral history recordings and archival materials, such as letters, as the basis of poetry and life story writing on six generations of Noongar women in Western Australia in this book.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is powerful story telling. Made up of poetry:
From 'Tidal Race'
'seas of remembering forgetting even reimagining
collide and converge in archival memory
unceasing battle of oceanic giants

forming waves
whirlpools

turbulent currents.'
And in prose:
Ngangk imagined a new world for her first child. In this world children would know who they were and where they came from so they could always find their way home.'

And archival evidence and art.

This book cover four generations of Noongar women and the effect white colonisation had on their family, causing; dislocation of place, removal of children, indentured labour and denial of medical care, plus many other injustices.

However you feel the songlines in this book. The culture that transcends white politics and is felt in the 'southerly' breeze, looking up in the stars and seeing 'weitch' and hearing the whispers in the water.

I felt honoured reading this work that propelled and compelled me.

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far one of my favourite poetry readings. I read it quickly, but it was no less savoured for it. I know I will read and re-read this collection again and again; return to certain poems at different times - as balm, as solace, as restoration.

Blood memory, healing, wounding through the archives; the role of storytelling to 'resist', 'survive', 'renew' (the 3 sections in the collection). So much that I have found difficult to translate from feeling into words is captured in Shiosaki's poetry.
The use of archives throughout - to challenge, speak back to, hold to account - of voices now passed on, recorded and transmitted through poetic form was a powerful way to provide this generational storytelling. It has inspired me, lit a spark within me of my own generational stories; the stories that have not yet been given voice and yet should be. The use of language words throughout, of place and its markers - reclaiming Country, reclaiming being - each page was brilliant in both language and form.

The below are 3 poems that stood out to me the most, on my first reading (impossible to include the entire book here). I know as I read again and again there will be others, influenced by the time and location in which I read from.

'The Past Is a Second Heartbeat' (122).
'Lost in Archive' (113).
'Tidal Race' (35).

Finally, I want to share Jeanine Leane's review of this collection, for the way it picks out something often ignored in poetry reviews - the use of space:

"These seemingly blank spaces are where the spectral/spirit world carries on and the ancestors continue their lives in pauses, in margins, and in between lines. It’s the unwritten words – what English cannot do or say – and what the page cannot contain that make the poems so powerful. Fragmented and untold stories are conjured by blank spaces. Meaning and story live on beyond the poems."

[Deb Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, especially once I got into its swing of historical documents, oral history and poetry. It’s unique, powerful, shocking and wonderful. The pleading for uniting family is one of the most searing and punitive parts of the history of this land, the utter cruelty of colonisation and the perseverance of First Nations people even while they are being treated like shit and so unjustly. It’s a call to arms for justice and a complete indictment of how dreadfully racist and cruel this country was, and clearly those legacies continue. Similar genre to https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4..., Charmaine Paperbark Green’s recent collection around the red suitcase. Such important stories that need to be told and heard. Excellent new (ish) voice in Blak literature in Australia

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

“This new world. A white world. A man’s world. A world that spun on an axis of spitting, hateful greed…

…This old world. A loving world. A woman’s world. A world where the bond between mothers and children were never broken.” (127)

[Gail Chilianis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this unique beautiful book by Elfie Shiosaki covering four generations of Noongar women. The cruelty of white colonisation is described so powerfully through poetry, archives and oral storytelling. At times I was lulled into the song of the poetry , I felt moved and grateful for Shiosaki’s work of art .

[Bliss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tigger Warning: Racial abuse, Stolen generation

Homecoming by Elfie Shiosaki is a poetic, multi-generational memoir on the women of her family. This story made me laugh, cry, and confront an unconscious bias, all while falling in love with the Indigenous men and women held within the pages.

Shiosaki is a First Nations storyteller. She has taken transcripts, letters, and articles to tell the story of her ancestors, primarily her female ones. Each word has been carefully selected from historical accounts and turned into poetry. The impact of these voices from the past is staggering. It is not just one voice revealing the struggles of Indigenous Australians, but many, speaking from different times in Australia’s history. As Siosaki says:

“First Nations storytelling recognises the human agencies of Aboriginal women to resist, survive and renew. We find freedom in storytelling, to restore humanity to our intergenerational story cycles, and carve bidis (tracks) between ancient and new worlds.”

And restore humanity to these voices is just what Shiosaki achieves. This story does not feel like history, this feels like reality and one that anyone from any background can understand. Sometimes history tends to focus on the trauma inflicted on Indigenous Australians and forget the powerful things Aboriginal Australians have done to fight for their rights and freedoms. This can be its own pervasive type of racism, treating the minority as if they are unable to save themselves.

Home Coming is a powerful narrative made up of many powerful indigenous voices. From Elfie’s great-grandmother who was a confident, cosmopolitan woman, and her Great Aunt who fought for equality. Shiosaki’s strength is being able to turn these intertwined voices into poetry.

You can feel the frustration of the father trying to have his children returned to him and hear the cheeky personality of Olive Shiosaki when she muses that she is ageless.

“I didn’t know when I was born, so in a way, I am not eighty-four, see?”

It is confronting to see the transcribed case involving Her Great Aunt Mary Alice Harris and to hear the confusion of the prosecutor asking what an Aboriginal man would do with a white man's pay. Harris’ reply is succinct.

1397. “What could they do with it? The same as white people.”

The unique storytelling lens serves to remind us that these stories are not just trauma and loss but also complicated people. I found the part about Miss Venus (her Great Grandmother) in her swimsuit a reminder that these women had varied and full lives, that they were more than a child from the stolen generation.

“They used to call her Miss Venus, reckoned she was so beautiful, in a bathing suit.”

There is trauma in this story that Shiosaki weaves. Her family is part of the stolen generation, there were many injustices and inequality. her beautiful pros paint the heart-breaking reality in a way that makes me weep at the loss of a loved child. I cried, at the loss, but also from the reminder that this child was cherished and protected before being forcibly removed. Another memory makes me feel queasy when her great-grandmother is made to stand on a table and praised for being a “clean Aboriginal girl”.

Homecoming is power and it is pain. It is truth and it is poetry. It will leave you feeling raw and uplifted because these women didn’t just survive through this trauma, they were renewed, and they resisted.

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pitched as poetry, but this is mostly interview transcripts and historical documents formatted with line breaks to look like poetry, which is not the same thing. It's nevertheless a powerful look at the fate of Aboriginal Australians pressed by colonialism, in particular three generations of Noongar women in Shiosaki's family.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was written so beautifully

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is, frankly, an astonishing feat of storytelling. Shiosaki draws on archival records, imaginings, oral histories and images, and, in composition, utilises such precise sense of positioning and order that you can hear the voices and the pauses and the things unsaid.
The result is a compelling, heroic story of a family - both as a unit united through time and as individuals - and their survival. It also critiques the archive, looking at what is left out and why, as well as what perspective it is curated into, and then filtered through. In this way, it is both a celebration and a condemnation of archives.
I read the pdf ebook version of this. At first, I thought there had been stylistic decisions to write words as type overs (still not 100% sure there weren't) but eventually realised it appeared to be an issue with the rendered of the combinations. I ended up buying a copy - both because I really do think this is a spectacular volume and because I wanted to not be confusing accident with intent.

[Sarah Krause · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning. I tried so hard to stretch it out and make it last longer than a day, but I couldn’t. I had to keep reading. I will definitely return to parts though. Amazing how sometimes a few words can just say so so much.
.
A stunningly beautiful heartbreaking work of art. ❤️💔

[Katie_Potatie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three things about Homecoming:
1. I was confronted with my privilege
2. Part prose part poetry over 4 generations
3. eye-opening

CAWPILE: N/A

I went to my local library a few weeks ago, and saw this book sitting in the "New Titles" pile, decided to pick it up and absolutely loved every moment of reading it. This was an incredible piece of literature and shows the devastating effects of the White Men on Aboriginal People in their own country.

I was confronted with my privilege many times during this short book, and it really made me rethink what a know of the Aboriginal suffrage. I am from a generation of children who were taught Aboriginal culture on a surface level, and a lot of that education was around Aboriginal generations not receiving English based education, but during reading this short book, I was confronted with a letter written to Australian Parliament begging for their children back, written in English. I have changed a lot of my understanding of Aboriginal Generations and the suffrage over my life, and I hope to continue this every day.

Absolutely fantastic book.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elfie Shiosaki is a Noongar and Yawuru woman from WA and Homecoming is the story of her ancestors, four generations of Noongar women. Their story is one of dispossession, stolen children and a fight against the Aborigines Act of 1905, in particular the Chief Protector of Aborigines. As I grew up in WA many of the events occur in places I am familiar with, but these are stories I did not hear during my protected 1950s Perth childhood.

For those of you who have seen the movie The Rabbit Proof Fence, the events are not new. However the way of telling is quite unique. The author has taken extracts from archives, letters to newspapers and oral history and presented them almost as poetry. She uses words from the Noongar language to make her family’s experiences generic eg: children are all called ‘koorlang’ and mothers are called ‘ngangk’. This makes it even more powerful. Homecoming is a short-book and easily read, however it is worth revisiting. (Short-listed for Stella Prize 2022)

[Imogen McGindle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elfie Shiosaki delves into the gap in the archive like a river, circling past, present and future like fish breathing. A Noongar and Yamura woman, this is a touching evocation of intergenerational storytelling through archival poetics.

“Koorlang closed her eyes and dreamed the river in, made herself a dusk offering” Rain Will Come, Elfie Shiosaki, p. 17

“The archive could never hold the beauty of a daring Noongar woman” p. 34

“Koorlang rolled up the legs of her jeans and waded out, kicking up generations of debris from the biboolborn, shedding its leaves and paperbark. Her grandmother’s voices swirled around her feet in clouds of silt, rising to the surface and revealing a thick forest of roots on the bottom. She knelt in the water, scooping leaves into her lap, gently cleansing the dirt from their blood lines. They whispered of the horror and the wonder, the delight and the misery. Her hands were muddied, and dirt snuck underneath her fingernails. Her heart caved in under its heaviness. The leaves floated on the surface in historic shades of emu-egg green, colouring its silty darkness.”
- Which Way, Homecoming, Elfie Shiosaki, p. 137

[Amy Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

.....📚 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 📚.....

Homecoming by Elfie Shiosaki is the lyrical telling of four generations of proud Noongar women and how they navigate the impact of colonisation and changing landscape of their country.

This work brings together poetry, prose, and colonial archives to tell the story of First Nations truth. Of their love for their children. Those that remained. Those that were Stolen. It amplifies Aboriginal women's voices and their ability to resist, survive, and renew.

I'm not surprised that this beautiful piece of work was on so many awards shortlists. Her ability to articulate the brutal and dehumanising state regime through the retelling of her families experiences across generations leaves a profound impact. You can almost feel the presence of her ancestors as you read about the bonds between mothers and daughters through time. I highly recommend this one to poetry fans.

[Rebeccajr7]

I found this to be a unique and thought-provoking read, one I had the privilege of studying for university. By weaving together archival documents, poetry, transcribed interviews, and more, this book hits you from multiple angles, powerfully conveying the brutality and lasting impact of colonialism and genocide on Indigenous Australians—a legacy that still affects them today. Australia’s dark and disturbing colonial history is often brushed aside, masked by a disturbing sense of patriotism among white Australians. It’s a constant source of deep shame and discomfort for me, especially given the lack of reparations and recognition Indigenous Australians have received. This book is essential reading for all Australians, as well as anyone interested in Australian history and the effects of colonialism.

[James Whitmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

An archive is a “cold unfeeling place”, Elfie Shiosaki writes in this collection of poetry and poetically rendered archival material. Archives are “seas of remembering” and “forgetting”. But perhaps, Shiosaki asks, they can also be sites of “reimagining”. Shiosaki, a Noongar woman, reimagines the archives to stunning effect to trace her family’s history and the brutal and dehumanising state regime that persecuted Noongar people during the 20th century. Read more on my blog.

[Cathryn Wellner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Using the spacing of poetry to provide a cadence to archival material, Shiosaki pulls the reader into the horror of Australia's treatment of First Nations people. Interviews, letters, and art join with Shiosaki's stories and poems to paint the beauty of family love amid the brutality of children torn from their parents and a culture of racism.

There is a musicality to the layout. I can envision a one-woman show. The book is harrowing in its content, inspiring in its presentation. All together a beautifully done book.

[Elena Claydon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, poetic way to explore her family’s history and the tragic mistreatment of Aboriginal people and the fight for their rights. Shiosaki’s weaving of archives, storytelling and poetry offers a really unique perspective. Definitely worth a read for anyone who wants to understand the intergenerational trauma and struggles, as well as the strength and resilience, of Australia’s First Nations People.

[Natasha (jouljet) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part poetry collection, part archival material made into art, parts short stories, this short collection of intergenerational Aboriginal stories is emotional, clever, and full of heart and pain.

So beautiful - Elfie Shiosaki's grandmother's story, then her mother's story, letters to the need in the day, testimony. Woven with Noongar language, and moving proses.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful story about Noongar resilience against institutionalised racism. What were the politicians of the past thinking!
Written in a style that includes poetry, short story and letters written at the time a quick and satisfying rad.

[Rebecca Olive · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, generous, thoughtful, and thought-provoking book. The generous intimacy of the family stories is carefully shared - the fragments are strong and moving without giving away things that don’t belong to readers.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review scheduled for 9/7/21 at anzlitlovers.com

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Suzie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A combination of poetry and archival material painting a picture of the heartbreaking life of inter-generational indigenous women.

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most beautiful book. I was deeply moved by the stories of the author’s mother and grandmother. I thought the combination of poetry, prose and historical documents absolutely compelling.

[Tina Jameson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply stunning. Very moving composition of archival materials, prose and poetry to create this eloquent and significant memoir.

[Kate Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary, unflinching collection of poetry that spans four generations of Noongar women and draws on the archives of colonialism’s cruel bureaucracies.

[Helena Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the stories and archival documents to be both eye-opening and fascinating