How do we as Australians reconcile the collective trauma of dispossession and the cultural disconnection of Australia’s First Nations people? For Kirli Saunders, a proud Gunai woman and Award Winning Poet and Author, healing comes from writing. In this episode Kirli talks about reconnecting with her language Gundungurra which she weaves into her poetry collection, Kindred and Bindi, a novel in verse for school kids. Bindi was also written in response to the catastrophic Black Summer bushfires that devastated Gundungurra Country in the Southern Highlands. We also talk about  establishing a self-care creative habit and how writing poetry in Language is both a form of resilience and resistance.

Makeshift.org.au

Guest: Kirli Saunders - kirlisaunders.com

Executive Producers: Caitlin Marshall & Lizzie Rose - makeshift.org.au

Producer: Jennifer Macey - jennifermacey.com

Theme Song: Elana Stone - elanastoneband.com.au

Extra Music: Blue Dot Sessions

Sound Engineer: Chris Hancock - chrishancock.network

Cover Art: Kiara Mucci - kiaramucci.com

This podcast was produced on the lands of the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal Nation and supported by a small cultural grant from Wollongong Council.