Ferro: Yes, it was truly collaborative, down to nearly every sentence. After writing up the chapter based on documents from her mother’s life, I repeatedly asked Rhonda, “But how would you say this?” Another example was when documents assessed Rhonda’s mother Alice as having “a preponderance of 1/16 of Aboriginal blood” (she was assessed as 9/16 Aboriginal in the racist caste system of the era). I asked Rhonda how she would say this. She replied, “My mother was too black to be a citizen, so she had to apply to become one.” I worked through both community development methods of listening, being patient, non-judgmental, and flexible, and also through methods taught through my writing classes to develop characters and scenes, and to get Rhonda to re-live vivid memories, so that the story exploded on the page and readers could imagine the setting, the people, and the emotions. I often asked Rhonda how she felt, slowing scenes down to describe moment by moment. I have to agree with Rhonda that I can’t actually recall any difficult time in our collaboration. It must have been a blessed union, and, yes, I agree that this sounds remarkable. We are both able to listen well and consider before speaking. I would never immediately change what Rhonda said, or interrupt her thinking. I would wait, and then ask questions to clarify, adding in these details. Many magic moments happened when we read a scene out loud, collaborated to get the wording right (like by enhancing the humor in telling the tale), and then laughed out loud and knew we’d nailed it.
Faktorovich: What advice do you guys have for writers who are working collaboratively with others or who want to write about their heritage?
Collard-Spratt: You need to come together in trust, respect, and true friendship. You will need strength to find your voice. Have the courage to share because we need more stories out there to help people know that we can survive and the wider community needs to know what we’ve been through as a people.
Ferro: Hear each other; each session is an adventure and that’s what keeps you going. You motivate each other, and you bounce off each other. Come to each session in positivity for the unknown that is about to unfold.
Faktorovich: Thank you for participating in this interview. Do you have anything else you’d like to add?
Collard-Spratt: Thank you, Anna. Thanks for your questions and for your interest. Go well and go strong.
Ferro: Thank you too, Anna, for your interest.
I guess I’d like to highlight the major messages in Alice’s Daughter: Lost mission child. Rhonda’s life story teaches us how surviving and healing are possible through connecting with our land’s ancient Aboriginal spirit, particularly through expressing yourself through the arts, and we hope it may help others who are dealing with a similar past. It also uncovers many dark realities about our white history in Australia. I feel that Australia is ready to face these ugly truths and collaborate with compassion to help start to right the wrongs. Alcoholism, suicide, incarceration, and foster care are the reality for many of our Aboriginal people. Alice’s Daughter goes some way to explaining why. Australia needs to teach this recent history in schools and particularly to those working in health care, justice, and community services, so that they can better understand the intergenerational trauma caused by our country’s past policies, and not judge people on the actions they are taking today. We also need to respect the deep connection our First Nations have with the land. They don’t own the land, they belong to it and it belongs to them; it is part of their spirit. Destroying the land through cattle stations and mining destroys Indigenous people’s very sense of who they are; their identity. Australia has a long way to go before we can truly say that we are reconciled.
Anna Faktorovich, Ph.D., is the Founder, Director, Designer and Editor-in-Chief of the Anaphora Literary Press, which has published over 200 titles in non-fiction, fiction and poetry.