“It’s good what you’re doing, demanding for a space. That way when the door opens for you, we can come in too.” This was the import of the conversation I had with Yankunytjatjara poet Ali Cobby Eckermann as I accompanied her and three other Indigenous poets and writers to the venue for Literary Commons, a festival where Indian and Indigenous Australian writers came together and spoke of commonalities and contrasts in their work in April this year. I was talking to Ali about a presentation I was preparing and she supported the claims and demands I was about to make that afternoon. But what struck me was the notion that Indigenous Australian poets too have to make demands for visibility in the literary sector. The thought made me guilty. As someone who has never been made to feel like a second-class citizen in their own country, I know I speak … Continue reading Broadening the narrative around and about diversity