Jack Davis Protest poetry definition The word protest means to object or to revolt. Protest poems aims to address issues in sociopolitical areas and express objection against them. For example, the feminist or racial protest poetry finds a way to find a fault with the existing current event or circumstance. This kind of poetry often focuses on the corruptions performed by the government upon its people.
Jack Davis Biography Jack Davis was born in Perth in 1917 and was the fourth child in a family of eleven. He was raised in Yarloop and the Moore River Native Settlement in Western Australia. He later lived on the Brookton Aboriginal reserve where he began learning the language of the Noongar peoples of the South West WA. He always had a fascination with words and during his youth he preferred a dictionary over a story book. Jack followed his parent’s advice and left school in 1932, when he was fourteen, soon after his father was tragically died in a work accident. At 14, furious at the treatment of Aboriginal people by white landlords, Jack began to write protest poetry as a means of his expression. He was influenced by Worru, who he met at the Moore River Native Settlement. Worru came from the same area as Jack's father, and Jack loved to listen to Worru's stories and songs. He began to write Aboriginal words and learned the Bibbulmun language. Jack later moved north in search of work. He worked several years as a stockman in the north, before returning to Perth to become a fulltime writer. He would commit a long life of service to the Aboriginal cause, through his writing and poetry. Upon his arrival to Perth, Jack joined the Aboriginal Advancement Council and began a fight for change in the government policies. In 1973 he became the editor of the Aboriginal Periodical Identity and helped many Aboriginal writers, this I where he would work for the next 5 years. He soon became a well-known and respected poet, and continued to write his moving poetry. During this time the policy was that Aboriginal people were not allowed in the towns after 6pm, but Jack refused to leave the streets and was imprisoned for four days. Over his later years, he became further enraged by the injustices of racial divided in society. His plays dealt with the history of Indigenous experience of invasion of non-Indigenous Australians, the Stolen Generation, deaths in custody, the treatment of the Aboriginal community as a whole and racism in small Australian towns. Jack Davis sadly passed away on march 17, 2000. Jack Davis will always be remembered for his writings about Aboriginal history and culture. For his relentless contribution to fight for justice for his people. Soon after his death he gained both national and international acknowledgement for his efforts made an massive contribution in helping to bridge the gap between communities and cultures.
Jack Davis Poetry Style The style of Jack Davis’s poetry is general follows a uniformed rhyme scheme and curtain messages and poetic devices are repeated through several of his poems. With him being a part of the Aboriginal community, this creates a fairly obvious poetry theme. The goal of his poems is to summarizes the views of the Aboriginal society during the 1900’s and how the struggled. He also compares the relationship between Aboriginals and the land, as well as their relationship toward white Australians. All the themes he uses are the topics for all of his poems. He often stuck to using an alternating rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF etc. This scheme is used to make the poem flow well and most importantly so the reader can focus on the key messages. He used this rhyme scheme in poems such as “The First Born”, “The Black Tracker” and “Aboriginal Australia”. However, some of his poems, follow the rhyme pattern less strictly, such as “Let go.” During this poem the first four line follow the pattern, then becomes completely altered from the scheme. This displays that his poems do not rely on the rhyme but the content in the poem and the way it’s worded. He also incorporates a lot of imagery, similes and metaphor into his poems. Jack Davis’s style of writing is a creative way of getting his messages across to the reader. With his use of simple rhyme patters and use of imagery to show common themes about Aboriginal society. He shows to the reader the changes that have occurred due to white colonists. His writing is a truly effective way of subtly proving the relevance of his messages to society.
Movement The movement that Jack Davis was involved in was, fighting for the rights of indigenous Australians from the late 1950s to 1970s. This movement was all brought about from the miss treatment of the aboriginal society. Such as removing the civil rights to vote, taking away land which had been owned for decades and the stolen generation. Around this time aboriginal and white protestors came together to campaign for equal civil rights for Indigenous Australians. This was more to eliminate the laws which suppressed the civil liberties of Indigenous Australians. During the late 1950s to the early 1970s was when black and white activists came together. This alliance was formed between white Australians and the indigenous people, both side trying to restore the injustices suffered by many, during the building of the Australian state. The Fights for Civil Rights was the movement to include Indigenous Australians as members of Australian society with right to vote and to benefit such luxuries as pension, and land rights. Australia had been inhabited by Aboriginals whose ancestors had lived in Australia for more than 40,000 years. By the 1950s, the indigenous community had lost all rights, such as land right and living conditions. Many had become bankrupt, living on the edge of town rubbish dumps and earned the occasional money as laborious. The state laws told Indigenous people where they could live, where they could and couldn't move and who they we allowed to marry. They were often not the legal guardians of their own children. Local policemen controlled the earnings, supplying small amounts of money according to their individual verdict. This was the amount of freedom the aboriginal community had. The Aboriginal struggle to regain land rights, started as soon as the white colonies came to power. Aboriginal people have had a long struggle over land rights. Aboriginal people have led public protests brining about political action, such as setting up a tents on the front lawn of Parliament, to cause positive law improvement. Campaigns developed and spread the argument of when mining companies and governments were co-operating together to develop mines in Aboriginal reserves. In the 1930s, when Jack Davis began writing protest poetry full time, the first protests about the harsh treatment of Aboriginal people on reserves to the public’s attention. It was made public, Indigenous children were being removed from their families, this was later called ‘the stolen generation’.
Poem Analysis 1 Let go Let go of my hand Let me be what I want to be Let go of my hand The sands of time Are trickling before me I have not yet Achieved what I want to be Let go of my hand I want to stand alone In a sea of words Pluck out the phrases Soar like a bird I want to stand on a mountain Wait for the dawn Yet be aware of The approaching storm I want to fashion a rainbow That arcs through the sky And iron out the dilemmas Between you & I
“Let go” is part of “Jagardoo: Poems from Aboriginal Australia”, a collection of poems written by Davis in 1987. The poem “Let Go” explores some important themes that arise during the Aboriginal protest poetry movement. In context, these issues were at the forefront of society during the time that Davis wrote this poem. The acknowledgement of indigenous Australians was gradually starting to be heard and became the foundation to direct the reconciliation on right course. The two main themes explored is the relationship between white and Aboriginal people and the direction the indigenous society wants to go. Firstly, he introduces the topic of the relationship between Aboriginal Australians and white Australians. This is put forward to readers several time by the use of a similes, metaphors and similes. This metaphor is showing how the indigenous communities want to go beyond their current freedoms, and become an equal part of society. “Let go of my hand, let me be what I want to be”, this metaphor implies to the reader that the relationship from the White Australians to Aboriginals is forced, and their help is unwanted. This is stated in the poem as “I want to stand alone”, this increases the fact that the Aboriginal people just want to be left alone. Additionally, the views of the Aboriginal community have been put forward through an aboriginal perspective, that perspective being Jack Davis. To make the poem more personal the word ‘I’ is repeatedly used throughout the poem. Such as “Let me be what I want to be”, “I have not yet Achieved” and “I want to stand alone” The points raised are more touching and sincerer when it is presented through an individual’s perspective. To enhance the poem repetition is used within the poem, repeating the expression “Let go of my hand”. By mentioning this phrase twice, it demonstrations to the reader that it as an important phrase and theme in the poem. The second major point that highlighted in the poem is the direction the Aboriginal community wants to be heading in. The poem delivers a message to the readers about what Aboriginal people truly want. Phrases such as “I want to stand on a mountain, wait for the dawn, yet be aware of the approaching storm, I want to fashion a rainbow that arcs through the sky and iron out the dilemmas between you & I”. All these phrases are spread over several lines to keep the lines short whilst retaining the meaningfulness of a sentence. These lines provide context which establishes that the freedom is their goal. To diverge away from the modernized society, and to stay connected to nature. However, it is clear in the poem that indigenous Australians don’t want to war with the white community. This is supported in the last two lines of the poem “and iron out the dilemmas between you & I”. This imagery sums up whole point of his, to let the reader understand what it is the Aboriginal community true intention are. To become one conjoined society with no racial bounders. “Soar like a bird” is a simile used to symbolize the how the Aboriginal community wants to roam free like a soaring of a bird. By using of a bird, Jack Davis keeps the connection between the land and the people as an important theme for the reader to remember. In conclusion, the poem “Let go” by Jack Davis has presented the direction the Aboriginal community wants to be heading and the relation between aboriginal and white Australians. He has supported this with the use of content and several poetic conventions. This poem is easy to read, because of the use of simple rhyme scheme short lines. However, even though the poem is short, it still has the meaningful messages to put forward to the reader. Overall, the messages in “Let go” are significant in presenting in the reader with a personal insight into the relationship between white and Aboriginal people and what the Aboriginal people want for their community.
Poem Analysis 2
Where are my first-born, said the brown land, sighing; They came out of my womb long, long ago. They were formed of my dust-why, why are they crying And the light of their being barely aglow? I strain my ears for the sound of their laughter. Where are the laws and the legends I gave? Tell me what happened, you whom I bore after. Now only their spirits dwell in the caves. You are silent, you cringe from replying. A question is there, like a blow on the face. The answer is there when I look at the dying, At the death and neglect of my dark proud race.
“The First Born” written by Jack Davis is one of his most famous pieces of Aboriginal protest poetry. “The First Born” was written in 1970 and tell how Aboriginal society has worsened since Europeans settled in Australia. Davis has used poetic techniques similar to his other poems establish his perspective on the issue. This poem was written in 1970, during this time Aboriginals were still being as a burden, it would be another 10 years of struggling, before Aboriginals finally gain their civil right to vote. However, at this time their land was being taken and destroyed by white settlers. Similar to his other poems he presents his message and focused on the strong connection between the Aboriginals and the land. The main idea of this poem is based on the metaphor comparing the relationship between mother and child to the Aboriginals and their land. This is used throughout the poem. The poem starts with “Where are my first-born, said the brown land sighing”, this metaphor is used to emphasize how deep the relationship to the land is, then is compared to the strong bond of a mother and child. To extend the metaphor, he has personified the land, essentially making the poem from the lands perspective. The land is inquiring about “why are they crying and the light of their being barely aglow?” Buy stating ‘Being barely aglow’ implies the aboriginal community is dying off. Through the use of personification of the land, this give the poem an interesting theme but also reinforces his points. By using emotive and inclusive language, Jack Davis emphasizes how important the relationship is. By using and repeating words like “they”, “you” and “my” as well as phrases like “my dark proud race” creates a deep sense of emotion. “The First Born” adds a personal touch through the use of metaphor, personification and emotive language contributes to the relationship between the land and the Aboriginal society. The way the land inquiries about “my dark proud race” is very negative and by using negative connotations this get message across. Phrases such as “I strain my ears for the sound of their laughter”, “Where are the laws and the legends I gave” and “Now only their spirits dwell in the caves” are clearly showing jack davis’s perspective on the direction of the Aboriginal community since the arrive of white settlers. This view is emphasized the way he uses emotive language, such as in the phases above. Like his other poem he uses lots of imagery to emphasize the message. To conclusion, “The First Born” is an insightful poem into the struggles of Aboriginal people. By using the main point of ‘death and neglect’ of the Aboriginal community. It has widened my perspective of how horrible it was to sever the relationship between Aboriginal people and the land.
My Poem Stolen Born just to be taken All we could do was flee But only to awaken Only to awaken to my harsh reality I was told be grateful That I live in a white society I was told to be respectful And accept their humility I feel separated you see Just for being who I am All I want is too roam free To be the man, I know I am For those who ripped apart my family And split me up from birth They must be humble For we are equals upon this
Rationale My poem I decided to write my poem on the stolen generation, which was issue during the time of Jack Davis. In writing my poem, I imitated many poetic devices and themes similar to one that Jack Davis in incorporated into his poems. I made use of the themes such as the direction of the Aboriginal community wants to head and the views aboriginal Australians have towards the white. My poem emphasizes how the aboriginal people feel trapped and how all they want is to live in harmony. I attempted to sum up the views and struggles an Aboriginal child stolen during the 1900’s. I presented these themes using an alternative perspective, with the use of an aboriginal child, and writing through their perspective. I kept to the style rhyme patterns, incorporating an ABAB CDCD etc. rhyme scheme. In conclusion, I chose this topic because I wanted to learn more about Aboriginal history and seen how today the society has been shape form this movement. I tried to capture the Aboriginal protest poetry movement and use that in the creation of my poem.