CRITICAL BLOG
This is my personal response to the insightful set of questions: "Which poem or story that we have looked at so far made an impression on you? What was the impression it made? Why did it touch your feelings and imagination?"
As a woman, it is hard not to sympathise with the messages conveyed within Eva Johnson’s poem entitled, “A Letter to my Mother.” The short extract discussed in week 2 of the unit; has made, by far, the most impactful impression on my view of Australian Literature.
The poem extract, though short, holds an undeniable amount of emotion and meaning. The message of sadness and shame, that Johnson expresses is linked to her loss of culture, kin and identity, and thought she writes in first person prose, the experiences she depicts are relevant to an entire generation of cultural beings. An example of this cultural loss is provided within the opening repetition of the line ‘I not see you long time now,” (Johnson, 14) which uses grammatic irregularities to portray the cultural divide between herself, her native Indigenous culture and her European assimilation.
I believe that the reason this work has impacted me to the extent that it has, is the result of my own powerful relationship with my mother and the role she plays in my life, as well as also our recent separation. The work causes me to re-imagine my circumstances, where I would be forcibly removed from her, and contemplate the impact and affect these actions would have on my young self. As a result of reading and analysing the poem within class, I have come to realise that I take my connection to cultural background for granted, and that my bond with significant individuals within my life are, at times greatly unrecognised.
The fear that Eva Johnson experienced regarding the replacement of her culture, kin and self at the desire of an uneducated and bias nation, is something that I now realise I may never face. For this I am thankful.
Works Sited:
'Four Aboriginal Poets' (1983). South Australia. Education Department. Aboriginal
Education Resource Unit.
