Kath Walkers Life
Kath Walker was an aboriginal poet who was born on the 3rd November 1920. She was an educator, political activist, artist and Aboriginal activist. She however is most remembered for is her poetry. Her first poem was called 'we are going’ and it was the first book written by an Aboriginal that was published. She was an Aboriginal activist and in 1972 she moved to North Stradbroke Island where she founded a cultural centre where people could come and learn about the Aboriginal culture. She became so famous that in 1977 a documentary was released about her. It was called shadow sister. Her bravery and passion for poetry was shown in 1974 when a British Airways flight she was on, was and hijacked and flew to different destinations in Africa. She was kept for three days and in that time she wrote two poems. She died in 1983 in Victoria.
Context
Kath Walkers poems are mainly written to protest about the discrimination against aboriginal people and other minority groups. She writes about this because she herself is an aboriginal women and over the time that she lived she has seen the mistreatment of her and her people. In her poems she writes about where she believes the Aboriginal population has been and where it is going. Her passion for her culture was shown in 1972 when she moved to North Stradbroke Island and set up a cultural centre aimed at educating people about the Aborigines and their past. Kath Walker was also an artist, her artworks had a similar theme to her poems, trying to get people to think about Aboriginals when most people wanted to ignore them all together.
Kath Walker was an aboriginal poet who was born on the 3rd November 1920. She was an educator, political activist, artist and Aboriginal activist. She however is most remembered for is her poetry. Her first poem was called 'we are going’ and it was the first book written by an Aboriginal that was published. She was an Aboriginal activist and in 1972 she moved to North Stradbroke Island where she founded a cultural centre where people could come and learn about the Aboriginal culture. She became so famous that in 1977 a documentary was released about her. It was called shadow sister. Her bravery and passion for poetry was shown in 1974 when a British Airways flight she was on, was and hijacked and flew to different destinations in Africa. She was kept for three days and in that time she wrote two poems. She died in 1983 in Victoria.
Context
Kath Walkers poems are mainly written to protest about the discrimination against aboriginal people and other minority groups. She writes about this because she herself is an aboriginal women and over the time that she lived she has seen the mistreatment of her and her people. In her poems she writes about where she believes the Aboriginal population has been and where it is going. Her passion for her culture was shown in 1972 when she moved to North Stradbroke Island and set up a cultural centre aimed at educating people about the Aborigines and their past. Kath Walker was also an artist, her artworks had a similar theme to her poems, trying to get people to think about Aboriginals when most people wanted to ignore them all together.
Analysis of Poem
Oodgeroo Noonuccal who is formally known as Kath Walker uses many different poetic techniques to highlight the theme of the poem which is about Aboriginals being pushed off their land by the whites. This is a similar theme to the poem ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou because they both talk about how they, the minority group is being pushed off their land. She talks about it as a crime and how the whites always want to cover up all the evidence that the Aboriginals ever lived there. The poem is explaining how sacred Aboriginal land gets ripped up by the whites, pushing the Aboriginal population out of the area. “The bulldozers huddle the crime site”. This quote uses personification. Kath Walker uses personification because she is explaining to the reader how the bulldozers assembled round the crime site. Hiding the shame of what had happened inside their little circle of bulldozers. When she talks about how the bulldozers are huddling up she is giving them a human nature making it easier for us to see what might be happening. I think that she is referring to the bulldozers as police because police always hide crime sites. However she also uses many other techniques. An example of this is from Stanza 4, 3rd line. “You whites with all the power and privilege”. This line uses alliteration to help the reader remember that the whites are the “privileged ones” and that they are in control of the Aboriginals because they give the Aboriginals no rights. Another technique that has been used is Repetition “White men turn quickly the Earth of Acacia Ridge”. The line is first used at the start of the poem and repeats again in the 3rd stanza. Kath Walker uses repetition to enforce and restate what she has said in the poem, so that the reader remembers the theme. This quote tells us that the white men quickly turned the Aboriginals sacred site into a pile of dirt, run over by bulldozers. In conclusion I think that by using poetic techniques Kath Walker has been able to highlight themes of discrimination and loss of land to the Aboriginals. Maya Angelous poem “Still I Rise” has similar themes but her poem protests for Black people in America.
Oodgeroo Noonuccal who is formally known as Kath Walker uses many different poetic techniques to highlight the theme of the poem which is about Aboriginals being pushed off their land by the whites. This is a similar theme to the poem ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou because they both talk about how they, the minority group is being pushed off their land. She talks about it as a crime and how the whites always want to cover up all the evidence that the Aboriginals ever lived there. The poem is explaining how sacred Aboriginal land gets ripped up by the whites, pushing the Aboriginal population out of the area. “The bulldozers huddle the crime site”. This quote uses personification. Kath Walker uses personification because she is explaining to the reader how the bulldozers assembled round the crime site. Hiding the shame of what had happened inside their little circle of bulldozers. When she talks about how the bulldozers are huddling up she is giving them a human nature making it easier for us to see what might be happening. I think that she is referring to the bulldozers as police because police always hide crime sites. However she also uses many other techniques. An example of this is from Stanza 4, 3rd line. “You whites with all the power and privilege”. This line uses alliteration to help the reader remember that the whites are the “privileged ones” and that they are in control of the Aboriginals because they give the Aboriginals no rights. Another technique that has been used is Repetition “White men turn quickly the Earth of Acacia Ridge”. The line is first used at the start of the poem and repeats again in the 3rd stanza. Kath Walker uses repetition to enforce and restate what she has said in the poem, so that the reader remembers the theme. This quote tells us that the white men quickly turned the Aboriginals sacred site into a pile of dirt, run over by bulldozers. In conclusion I think that by using poetic techniques Kath Walker has been able to highlight themes of discrimination and loss of land to the Aboriginals. Maya Angelous poem “Still I Rise” has similar themes but her poem protests for Black people in America.