Annual Freilich Lecture: Dr Elfie Shiosaki, 'First Nations Peace Poetics'

About the Event

Despite the unsettling advancement of weapons technology in the 21st century, storytelling remains one of the most powerful technologies for promoting conflict resolution and peace. This lecture explores the power and potential of First Nations poetry in Australia to contribute to conflict resolution by healing unreconciled relationships in the present and unreconciled narratives of the past, while also imagining futures of peace.

In the aftermath of the failed 2023 referendum for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the silence surrounding alternative roadmaps to peace, this lecture highlights First Nations poetry as an increasingly significant site for peacemaking and for amplifying First Nations calls for peace.

About the Speaker

Dr Elfie Shiosaki is a Noongar and Yawuru academic and award-winning storyteller. She is currently the Director of the Centre for Indigenous Policy Research at the Australian National University. Her research and teaching explore Indigenous peoples’ desires for rights and self-determination.

Dr Shiosaki is the author of Refugia (Magabala Books, 2024) and Homecoming (Magabala Books, 2021), and co-editor of maar bidi: next generation black writing (Magabala Books, 2020). She also served as the inaugural Editor of First Nations Writing at Westerly from 2017 to 2021.

A drinks reception with light refreshments will follow the lecture. Attendance is free, though bookings are required for catering purposes.