Jack Davis: The Maker of History

Jack Davis: The Maker of History contains essays by several prominent Australians that offer new readings and different perspectives on the work of this poet, storyteller, playwright, politician and humanitarian. Various aspects of Davis's work are discussed: his blending of Aboriginal oral culture and Western dramatic forms, his politicising of the dramatic space as a statement about place, history and Aboriginality, his use of storytelling on both a personal and political level to celebrate the voices of Aboriginal Australia and to encourage them to speak. Attention is also given to Davis's poetry, which, it is argued, has been unfairly neglected or dismissed. With an introduction by Gerry Turcotte, and a tribute to Davis by the late Oodgeroo Noonuccol, Jack Davis: The Maker of History is an important study of this inspirational writer.