Shame
Parramatta: A Dictionary of Place and Memory - S
If there is a quality that is deep in our national character, it is shame: the shame of inadequacy, the shame of waiting to be called upon, the shame of benchmarks set by someone else and always falling short.
Our publishers wait for other markets to tell us what is big.
Our publishers wait like beggars for English-speaking others to give us our own worth.
Our publishers are convinced there are only two countries in the world with which to trade creative work.
Our publishers are adamant English is the only language in the world.
Our stories are once again Bondi and share houses and the Harbour Bridge as if the entire country were the direct line from the CBD to the closest beach.
Our publishers occasionally look west, but it’s largely happened against their will. The regions, the other cities, the geographic heart of the country don’t exist. We celebrate what is replica European.
So I provide This is Australia: A Modern Reading List. I challenge our publishers to exchange this list properly overseas, to seek equals who understand and respect that we live, we create, we exist.