Muhammad Ali and beauty

About the author

Philip Neilsen

Philip Neilsen’s most recent poetry collection, Wildlife of Berlin (UWAP, 2018), was shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Prize in the 2019 NSW Premier’s Literary...

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The power of the First Nations Matriarchy

EssayI WAS BORN from the world’s most ancient womb: the sacred womb of a First Nations woman. The blood pumping through my veins is the life force of a long line of First Nations Warrior Women whose spirits run deep into this ancient soil. It is a privilege to be raised in a culture that understands the power of the First Nations Matriarchy.

‘The True Hero Stuff’

GR OnlineI grew up in a Queensland still so saturated with racist ideology that my own identity was hidden from me until as a teenager I started bringing home questions about our family’s tan skin and curly dark hair. Forty years later I was very well aware that non-First Nations writers usually mine a vast well of ignorance and stereotype when they attempt to bring Aboriginal characters or themes into their work.

Living cultures under the acts

MemoirThese stories go something like this: pioneering spirit and entrepreneurialism have built success for the whites who have flourished, while congenital bad character leads our peoples to our inevitable conclusions. Pioneering spirit is celebrated across the landscape: Pioneer Park. Pioneer’s Sculpture. Bicentennial Park.