Who let the dogs out?

Featured in

  • Published 20050607
  • ISBN: 9780733316081
  • Extent: 264 pp
  • Paperback (234 x 153mm)

WILLY IS A young Palm Island boy, full of life and with more than a fair serve of natural chutzpah. His grandmother, Aunty M, whose house I’m camped in, tells me he’s good at maths as well as footy. Willy wants to play for the Cowboys when he grows up, and for most of my stay on his island is glued to the PlayStation, selecting teams, taking passes, tackling. His triumphant yell comes every 10 minutes, “And he’s through!” (In Willy’s Bwlkman accent, “through” comes out as a cross between “sroo” and “truu”.)

I quiz him. Adult attention is a gift at the age of 10, even in the guise of interrogation.

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

If you are an educator or student wishing to access content for study purposes please contact us at griffithreview@griffith.edu.au

Share article

More from author

More from this edition

Imagination the everyday art

EssayA WRITER, AN actor. A mother, a daughter. The mother captured and lingered in the public memory when she chained herself to a bar...

The painter and the writer

EssayJOANNA LOGUE HAS been responding to the landscape around her home, Essington Park, near Oberon on the western slopes of NSW, for about seven...

The trouble with empathy

EssayNo doubt the finite and meagre nature of our feelings does prevent us from extending our sympathies to those whom we have not seen...

Stay up to date with the latest, news, articles and special offers from Griffith Review.