AustLit

'Suzie Miller’s powerful one-woman play Prima Facie explores how sexual assault victims are let down by the legal system.'

'It’s difficult to describe what it’s like to be raised in a Chinese family, especially when you are surrounded by markers of Western society. There is no such thing as talking back to your parents or refusing to do what they say. As a child, I never went to sleepovers. During my teenage and young adult years, I felt increasingly trapped in my own home. Everything I did was scrutinised; my parents never seemed to take into account my wants or needs. I found myself grasping for any scrap of independence, usually through lying or stealing or a combination of the two. As children, we are continually told that adults do things to protect us, especially when they are things we don’t particularly like. But when does protection morph into something uglier? When does it smother us, as if our agency has been stripped from us?' (Introduction)

'Yellow might be a simple colour—the third colour of the rainbow—but it means different things to different people. For some, it conjures up the image of daffodils, for others, the Kraft cheese singles wrapped in plastic that were the staple of every primary school kid’s lunchbox in the 1990s and early 2000s. For others still, it might be the doors of the Queensland Rail trains, ever slow to open, ever fast to close. In colour psychology, the right yellow can increase optimism, self-esteem, confidence, friendliness, creativity. However, the wrong yellow can result in feelings of fear, irrationality and anxiety.' (Introduction)

'Behind the dad jokes, Queensland Theatre’s The Holidays is an ambitious play about family connection through dark times. By Yen-Rong Wong.'

'I am a child of Malaysian-Chinese parents, but was born and raised in Australia. Throughout my childhood (and, to be honest, even now), I never truly felt comfortable within the categories of “Malaysian,” “Chinese,” or “Australian.” I languished in the hyphenated mess that was Malaysian-Chinese-Australian, afraid i would never truly belong. so when I encountered the term “diaspora,” i felt something inside me breathe a sigh of relief. but even though I had a name for what I was feeling, it didn’t necessarily resolve my confusion around my identity.' (Introduction)

'A little over a year ago, Lionel Shriver delivered the opening address at the Brisbane 'Writers Festival, where she notoriously derided political correctness and defended the practice of cultural appropriation by white writers. A little over a year ago, I wrote a blog post responding to what she'd said. I wrote it while I was walking to the train station, while I was on the train, and while I was walking home from the train station. I was angry, but I somehow managed to temper my anger.' (Introduction)