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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'In the Aboriginal missions of far northern Australia, it was a battle between saving souls and saving traditional culture.
'Every Secret Thing is a rough, tough, hilarious portrayal of the Bush Mob and the Mission Mob, and the hapless clergy trying to convert them. In these tales, everyone is fair game.
'At once playful and sharp, Marie Munkara's wonderfully original stories cast a taunting new light on the mission era in Australia.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
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Dedication: This book is dedicated to Pardy (Brian Sweet), who told me I could do it. 10 November 1923 - 7 March 2006.
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Other Formats: Also electronic resource
Contents
- The Bishop, single work short story humour (p. 1-13)
- The Brotherhood, single work short story humour (p. 14-27)
- Pwomiga, single work short story (p. 28-34)
- The Immaculate Misconception, single work short story humour (p. 35-38)
- The Sound of Music, single work short story humour (p. 39-46)
- Mira, single work short story humour (p. 47-55)
- The Big Wind, single work short story humour (p. 56-63)
- Wurruwataka, single work short story humour (p. 64-74)
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The Garden of Eden,
single work
short story
humour
'...An so it was with great sadness that the coloured kids were taken from the arms of their families. Some mothers handed them over in the hope that...their kids' lives would be the better for their sacrifice. Others fought tooth and nail to the bitter end...' (Source: Munkara, Marie. Every Secret Thing, 2009:80)
- The Bride-to-be, single work short story humour (p. 82-87)
- Tides of Change, single work short story humour (p. 88-97)
- Taking Leave, single work short story humour (p. 98-103)
- Noah's Revenge, single work short story (p. 104-109)
- The Missionaries, single work short story humour (p. 110-120)
- Thomas, single work short story humour (p. 121-127)
- The Castaways, single work short story humour (p. 128-139)
- Punapi, single work short story (p. 140-149)
- The Good Doctor, single work short story humour (p. 150-158)
- Marigold, single work short story humour (p. 159-170)
- The Movies, single work short story humour (p. 179-171)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also sound recording.
Works about this Work
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Laughter and the Indigenous Trickster Aesthetics of Marie Munkara’s Every Secret Thing
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Postcolonial Past & Present : Negotiating Literary and Cultural Geographies : Essays for Paul Sharrad 2018; (p. 103–120)'The trickster features in a wide range of folkloric, mythic, popular, and literary texts. Spanning antiquity and the contemporary world, tricksters appear in African, Arabic, Asian, Caribbean, European (including Greek, Norse, and Slavic), Pacific, and South American cultures, as well as those of Indigenous peoples in settler nations. Literary trickster figures include the Odyssean wandering hero, the animals in Aesop's fables, the Shakespearean wise fool, and the confidence man in nineteenth-century novels by Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, and Mark Twain. More recently, trickster figures have been deployed across a range of minority literatures. Jeanne Rosier Smith, for example, discusses the trickster's recent resurgence in the fiction of what she terms ethnic American women writers., Trickster figures have also appeared in Indigenous writing from both the USA and Canada. ' (Introduction)
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Sovereignty as a State of Craziness : Empowering Female Indigenous Psychologies in Australian “Reconciliatory Literature”
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Hypatia : A Journal of Feminist Philosophy , Summer vol. 32 no. 3 2017; (p. 644-659)'Reading and writing must be more than passive processes of mimetic display; rather, they should offer a platform for psychological transformations across race and gender. Thus literary sovereignty vis-a-vis ownership of creative expression and representations of self can be reclaimed.This essay offers close analysis of contemporary Australian Indigenous literature to explore the sovereignty of feminist psychologies. Does creative writing reflect a strengthening of female Indigenous psychologies, and how might this implicate race relations and the decolonization of textual worlds? These questions are inspired by Alexis Wright’s most recent novel The Swan Book where she writes about “the quest to regain sovereignty over [her] own brain.” This article will explore the term craziness in a metaphorical sense: looking at whether rejecting dominant white culture equates to psychological sovereignty, improved mental well-being, and better race relations in imaginary realms. Indigenous characters in Wright’s The Swan Book and Marie Munkara’s Every Secret Thing may appear “crazy” for living in a state of indifference, but paradoxically, it is this state of “craziness” or indifference that empowers them to find psycho-logical peace and resist assimilation. Seeking psychological sovereignty means assuming a position so averse to patriarchy and colonization that it renders transformation in imaginary worlds,and urges transformation in the psyches of white readers too.' (Publication abstract)
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Every Secret Thing - Interview with Marie Munkara. Part 1
2014
single work
interview
— Appears in: Crikey 2014; 'This is Part One of an interview with Darwin-based writer Marie Munkara in early October...' -
It's Not Black and White : Who Should Be Practically and Affectively Implicated in Reconciliation and Its Textual Discourses
2011
single work
essay
— Appears in: Northern Territory Literary Awards 2011 2011; (p. 93-99)'Fiction writing is a proliferating vocation in the Northern Territory (NT) and the increasing number of publications by Territory authors is testament to the work of The NT Writers’ Centre to encourage, guide and inspire Territorians to imagine and write. The NT Writers’ Festival, ‘Word Storm’, was held by the NT Writers’ Centre in 2010 and proved to be a highly commendable success which attracted renowned authors such as Arnold Zabel, Germaine Greer and Lionel Fogarty to promote literature, critical debate and cultural production through the Arts. According to audience surveys, however, Northern Territory author, Marie Munkara was voted as the most popular guest writer at the festival for her work, Every Secret Thing (2009). ...'
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Marie Munkara
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Overland , Summer no. 205 2011; (p. 59-60)
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Off the Shelf : Stories
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 19 September 2009; (p. 28)
— Review of Every Secret Thing 2008 selected work short story -
[Review] Every Secret Thing
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , September vol. 89 no. 2 2009; (p. 25)
— Review of Every Secret Thing 2008 selected work short story -
[Review] Every Secret Thing Marie Munkara
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: InCite , November vol. 30 no. 11 2009; (p. 22-23)
— Review of Every Secret Thing 2008 selected work short story -
[Review] Every Secret Thing Marie Munkara
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Wet Ink , December no. 17 2009; (p. 55)
— Review of Every Secret Thing 2008 selected work short story -
Nuns and Priests
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 320 2010; (p. 15)
— Review of Every Secret Thing 2008 selected work short story -
Black Chicks Talking : Indigenous Women's Writing in JSNWL's Collection
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: Jessie Street National Women's Library Newsletter , May vol. 22 no. 2 2011; (p. 6-7) 'The library has a small but growing collection of Aboriginal material in the form of books, posters, audio-visual items and the few journals. This article overviews these holdings and makes a plea for more donations in this area.' (p. 6)
-
Marie Munkara
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Overland , Summer no. 205 2011; (p. 59-60) -
Every Secret Thing - Interview with Marie Munkara. Part 1
2014
single work
interview
— Appears in: Crikey 2014; 'This is Part One of an interview with Darwin-based writer Marie Munkara in early October...' -
It's Not Black and White : Who Should Be Practically and Affectively Implicated in Reconciliation and Its Textual Discourses
2011
single work
essay
— Appears in: Northern Territory Literary Awards 2011 2011; (p. 93-99)'Fiction writing is a proliferating vocation in the Northern Territory (NT) and the increasing number of publications by Territory authors is testament to the work of The NT Writers’ Centre to encourage, guide and inspire Territorians to imagine and write. The NT Writers’ Festival, ‘Word Storm’, was held by the NT Writers’ Centre in 2010 and proved to be a highly commendable success which attracted renowned authors such as Arnold Zabel, Germaine Greer and Lionel Fogarty to promote literature, critical debate and cultural production through the Arts. According to audience surveys, however, Northern Territory author, Marie Munkara was voted as the most popular guest writer at the festival for her work, Every Secret Thing (2009). ...'
-
Sovereignty as a State of Craziness : Empowering Female Indigenous Psychologies in Australian “Reconciliatory Literature”
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Hypatia : A Journal of Feminist Philosophy , Summer vol. 32 no. 3 2017; (p. 644-659)'Reading and writing must be more than passive processes of mimetic display; rather, they should offer a platform for psychological transformations across race and gender. Thus literary sovereignty vis-a-vis ownership of creative expression and representations of self can be reclaimed.This essay offers close analysis of contemporary Australian Indigenous literature to explore the sovereignty of feminist psychologies. Does creative writing reflect a strengthening of female Indigenous psychologies, and how might this implicate race relations and the decolonization of textual worlds? These questions are inspired by Alexis Wright’s most recent novel The Swan Book where she writes about “the quest to regain sovereignty over [her] own brain.” This article will explore the term craziness in a metaphorical sense: looking at whether rejecting dominant white culture equates to psychological sovereignty, improved mental well-being, and better race relations in imaginary realms. Indigenous characters in Wright’s The Swan Book and Marie Munkara’s Every Secret Thing may appear “crazy” for living in a state of indifference, but paradoxically, it is this state of “craziness” or indifference that empowers them to find psycho-logical peace and resist assimilation. Seeking psychological sovereignty means assuming a position so averse to patriarchy and colonization that it renders transformation in imaginary worlds,and urges transformation in the psyches of white readers too.' (Publication abstract)
Awards
- Gulf of Carpentaria area, Far North Queensland, Queensland,