written by
natasha berta
Using literature to move toward an anti-racist future
Below is an essay I wrote for my Graphic Narratives unit as part of my Graduate Diploma of Writing Literature. I thoroughly enjoyed Gene Luen Yang's works, Dragon Hoops and American Born Chinese and recommend them to all age groups. I think the essay sums up...
Rejecting
I constructed this fictocritical essay with a particular formatting structure that supports the poetry and assertions of the piece. It would be ideal to download it and view it with its intended formatting. I have included the first section below as I was able to...
We’re heading out
We’re heading out RAV4 is ready to take us bush, Mookerwah is calling Skye and I, new friends drive chats turn to politics. Just look out the window sometimes the best thing is to stop talking. No...
Oh belly
Oh belly I have spent a lifetime hating you yet you have done so much for me digesting my food, sustaining my life affecting my emotions, perceptions growing humans I’m tired of being so cruel to you you have given me so much and all I’ve given you is...
A weekday morning starts
A weekday morning starts with birdsong in my ears a rush that I can’t even identify wattle bird magpie and who is that other one? the warmth of the sun through my eyelids brings a grateful smile to my face the gratitude is new as the day not like those mornings...
the three fates
I Status message You have been alive for 17,725 days. II Read me a bedtime story But I won’t get sleepy. I’ll get angry. The myth works on me. for days - Why is a man the saviour? Is the man a part of me and I save myself? III If...
after Josh
after Josh me - green tomato no ripe fruit to eat "What do we do with the ripe ones?" Throw them away - wanted? months of fishing - lost at sea - no directions the way - back in a society - one version is the one shared - let them eat the ripe fruit. It is sweeter...
Little Miss Unknown
The Request: Write a formally revisionary short story inspired by either Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad or Alan Bigelow's flash stories. Add a critical reflection in which you explain your creative decisions in relation to the collection that inspired...
Tom Cho Look Who’s Morphing – Book Review
Look Who’s Morphing is Tom Cho’s debut novel. Published in 2009 by Giramondo Publishing in Australia, it places Cho in the bosom of postmodern literature. A book of eighteen short stories, touching on themes of identity, popular culture, nostalgia versus technology...