Chick
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Non-Traditional Research Output
Original Creative Work
Document Type
Non-Traditional Research Output
Date of Publication
2022
Location of the Work
Westerly Magazine
Volume
67
Issue
1
Research Statement
Research Background
In 2018 I attended The Australian Museum in Sydney NSW. This story is inspired by the permanent collections of eggs and birds gathered during the exploration and colonisation of Australia during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Drawing on the journals of Joseph Banks, the story weaves a fictionalised colonial explorer’s journal into a contemporary narrative to provide a critique of changing attitudes to life within generations of the same family. This story also draws on speculative fiction strategies to tell the story of a young woman, a descendant of the explorer, who is struggling to conceive a baby. She seeks solace in nurturing the potential life inside the collected eggs.
Research Contribution
This story considers the lost potential held within museum collections of eggs and animals both in their own right and as a metaphor for human fertility. Eggs and fertility are paired as ecofeminist symbols that align feminist and environmental concerns. It also considers generational legacy for settler cultures who trace their presence in Australia back to colonial practices, and navigates reconciliation of this history with their contemporary descendants.
Research Significance
Westerly journal is WA's premier literary publication, established in 1956 and is listed in the world’s major cultural indexes. Westerly is ranked H-index 5. This edition (67.1) included work by writers across Australia and overseas. The author was one of four invited by the editors to read an extract from the story at the launch in Fremantle. “Chick” acknowledges Varuna, The National Writers House, and was produced during the author’s awarded 2018 Mick Dark Flagship Fellowship for Environmental Writing. Varuna, in Katoomba NSW, is a nationally renowned centre of excellence and provides retreats and support to Australian writers.
Publication Title
Westerly
Publisher
The University of Western Australia
School
School of Arts and Humanities
RAS ID
72371
Duration
3917 words
Comments
Mazza, D. (2022). Chick. Westerly, 67(1), 15-23. https://westerlymag.com.au/issues/67-1/