Redefining Female Subjectivity in Australian Indigenous Women’s Poetry

Abstract

This article discusses the poetry of Romaine Moreton and Lisa Bellear, particularly the poems in which they address the violence against Aboriginal women and girls. It demonstrates how the two poets’ representation of Australian historical and cultural memory destabilises the continuum of colonial power relations and confronts the ongoing stereotypes of Aboriginal women constructed on the basis of a decidedly racist and misogynistic colonial ethos.

Keywords

• Australian Indigenous protest poetry
• Romaine Moreton
• Lisa Bellear
• Eurocentrism
• racialised and gendered violence