Culture is just one part of creativity
ABORIGINAL author Chris Walker has written two fantasy novels for junior readers but says it can be hard when expectations are to write about indigenous culture.
“A lot of people have that assumption,” she said. “There’s not that many Aboriginal writers out there, especially for fantasy. They tend to write about traditional stuff.
“But I’m not one for that sort of writing, I’ve got my culture but there are a lot of processes involved in writing and I am not a writer in that traditional sense.”
Aboriginal society has a strong tradition in oral history, with stories passed from one generation to the next via storytelling.
When it came to her writing career, Chris says she never intended to become an author - it was something that just happened.
“I never really had any inclination to write, I never really thought about it,” she admits.
“I was going through a bullying period at work which didn’t end. I had a dream and it stuck in my head – it was like a movie. I wrote it down and it went from there. It was like someone else had control over my fingers.”
Chris’ books The Chase – The Rescue Mission and The Chase – The Family and the Witch were published independently in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
She continues to write and is currently putting together a collection of stories for her nieces and nephews.
“They have all put orders in,” she laughs. “I’m writing one at the moment.”
Chris would really like to build on the network of Aboriginal writers in a field that can be very isolating.
“I’ve never met another Aboriginal author that writes fantasy,” she said.
“Everyone I’ve met is a traditional or family history writer. It does make it hard, besides Val (Clark) and the Outback Writers’ group, there’s no-one to talk to about it.
Chris would ideally like to see more Aboriginal writers emerge to form a network of like-minded creative people.
“I would love to get a group of Aboriginal people involved in a writers’ group,” she said.
“I know a few people that have written books. I would love to see more writers in general come out. “It would be awesome if we could get a group together.
“I would love for them to come along to the writers’ group to see what they can achieve.”
Chris believes that many Aboriginal people have lost their culture and that there are also literary issues within the community. Fortunately, it is being addressed by a nation-wide Aboriginal literacy program.