A video poem created by ethnobotanist Fiona Walsh, using an extract from my poem ‘The Claypans Diaries’, alongside Arrernte language reflections written by Veronica Perurrle and spoken by Kumalie Kngwarreye. Screened at REEL Poetry in Houston (2021) and the Video Poetry Festival in Athens (2021)
Fiona’s Artist Statement:
Australia is an enormous continent with a thin population. Sometimes I’m lonely for human company. My elder son and family live far away. My young son is buried here. This home is in the middle of Australia; so isolated in the world. I nurture a wild garden to provide habitats for wildlife. I live with animals and plants; tthey are my companions, my family too. I learn their habits, feel affection and concern for their wellbeing.
The indigenous people of the land I settle are called Arrernte people. I learn about birds and local foods from them too. All creatures and places here have ancient stories. The myths of this country are close by; song lines connect people, sites and creatures.
This video poem is a memory, a mourning and a celebration. I grieve for something by remembering it. When it reappears, in whatever form, I quieten to absorb more deeply.
The genesis of the video is from the birds of the garden. My friend had died, some birds had died, and their kin disappeared. Poet, Kelly Lee Hickey, wrote about them in her poem named ‘New Year’s lament’ now published in ‘Borderlands’ (see other attachment).
When the birds returned for a few fleeting days, I filmed them. These elusive avians are known as Spiny cheeked honeyeaters in English, and Arretyaletyale in Arrernte language. My Arrernte colleague and friend, Veronica Perurrle Dobson, told me more about them. An Arrernte worldview focusses on relations between people and certain animals and specific plants. Arrernte people believe the spirit of each creature comes from, and goes to, places in their country; heaven is a notion from a different culture. I worry about the vulnerability of wildlife with our hotter drier conditions caused by climate change. Here, untold thousands of birds are dying from starvation and heat exhaustion. I find some reassurance in Arrernte beliefs.
In Australia, we all live on the lands of indigenous people. To me, a proper way to live respectfully is to ask and work alongside of them. When Veronica Perurrle spoke about the birds, we recorded her words. Then she asked if Kumalie Kngwarreye could read the writing. This video poem weaves one of the oldest continuously spoken languages in the world with the English language that colonised Australia just 232 years ago.
