Another Day in the Colony
Chelsea Watego
In this collection of deeply insightful and powerful essays, Chelsea Watego examines the ongoing and daily racism faced by First Nations peoples in so-called Australia. Rather than offer yet another account of ‘the Aboriginal problem’, she theorises a strategy for living in a society that has only ever imagined Indigenous peoples as destined to die out.
Drawing on her own experiences and observations of the operations of the colony, she exposes the lies that settlers tell about Indigenous people. In refusing such stories, Chelsea narrates her own: fierce, personal, sometimes funny, sometimes anguished.
She speaks not of fighting back but of standing her ground against colonialism in academia, in court and in the media. It’s a stance that takes its toll on relationships, career prospects and even the body.
Yet when told to have hope, Watego’s response rings clear: Fuck hope. Be sovereign.
‘In this collection of sharply written, fiercely intelligent and engaging essays, Watego is clear that her book will not surrender to the settler-colonial narrative that pervades the Australian literary scene ... This book is absolutely essential reading.’
‘This book is above all a warm tribute to the intimate teachings, beauty, pain and joy shared in Black homes and around the kitchen table, across generations, and on any given day in the colony.’
‘Each essay is as honest and raw as the next. At times vulnerable, at times wry. Artfully forensic. In reading Another Day I felt cared for... A must read. One to come back to again and again.’
- Release
- Nov-2021
- ISBN
- 9780702263163
- RRP (AUD)
- $29.99
- Pages
- 272
- Format
- Paperback
- Category
- Non-fiction
Chelsea Watego
Chelsea Watego is a Munanjahli and South Sea Islander woman born and raised on Yuggera country. First trained as an Aboriginal health worker, she is an Indigenist health humanities scholar, prolific writer and public intellectual.
University of Queensland Press (UQP)
For 70 years UQP has been at the forefront of innovative publishing. It has launched the careers of many great novelists, published contemporary poets, been a pioneering force in children’s and young adult publishing and has set the benchmark for award-winning scholarly and Black Australian writing.
