Printable version 
The Australian Literature Resource
- Black Words E-News May-June 2009 issue now available.
Black Words is an initiative of AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource.
Black Words is an information-rich website, a searchable database and a forum for communication. It supersedes AustLit's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Writers subset which was created from 2001-2006 through the commitment of all AustLit contributors to encompass this important part of Australia's literary culture. Black Words builds on, and extends, this work.
Black Words provides access to both general and specific information about Indigenous literary cultures and traditions, providing definitions and articulations of what Black writing and Indigenous literatures are.
Black Words also contains records describing published and unpublished books, stories, plays, poems and criticism associated with eligible writers and storytellers and includes works in English and in Indigenous languages.
Black Words will always be a work in progress and we seek and welcome the participation of users, community members and scholars of Indigenous literature to help us build the most authoritative and detailed resource of the strong and continuing Indigenous practice of storytelling in Australia in both written and oral forms.
Images of deceased people / Terminology
Users of Black Words and AustLit should be aware that in some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, seeing images of deceased persons in photographs, film and books, or hearing them in recordings, may cause sadness or distress and, in some cases, offend against strongly held cultural prohibitions.
Users are also warned that AustLit may contain words and descriptions that may be culturally sensitive. Terms may reflect authorial attitudes or language use that may be considered inappropriate today.
We welcome your feedback and ideas for improvement on Black Words. If you would like to make any comments or provide suggestions and enhancements to the content, please fill in our feedback form or email us at: info-austlit@austlit.edu.au
The development of Black Words has been made possible through funding and support from the Australian Research Council's Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities program and the AustLit partners. AustLit team members at all partner organisations assisted individual Black Words team members during the establishment period, especially Joan Keating at The University of Queensland and Tessa Wooldridge at UNSW at ADFA.
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies provided assistance with heritage and language terminology. We also wish to acknowledge the participation of many Indigenous writers and researchers who are providing information, support and assistance in the ongoing work of creating accurate and appropriate records for the Indigenous Australian writers, storytellers and their works in Black Words.
Black Words: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Writers and Storytellers is a separately published work within AustLit.
No part of this work may be reproduced without permission from the publisher.
ISBN 0 9750867 4 X
AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource 2004-
Black Words: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Writers and Storytellers
Bibliography.
Biographical index.
Includes index.
ISBN 0 9750867 7 4.
1. Australian literature - Bibliography.
2. Australian writers - History and criticism - Bibliography.
3. Indigenous Australian literature - Bibliography.
4. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers - In literature - Bibliography.
I. AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource.