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Ruby Moonlight

WINNER, 2013 NSW PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS, BOOK OF THE YEAR

WINNER, 2013 NSW PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS, KENNETH SLESSOR POETRY PRIZE

WINNER, 2012 BLACK&WRITE! INDIGENOUS WRITING FELLOWSHIP

WINNER, 2012 DEADLY AWARDS, OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN LITERATURE 


A verse novel that centres around the impact of colonisation in mid-north South Australia around 1880. Ruby, refugee of a massacre, shelters in the woods where she befriends an Irishman trapper. The poems convey how fear of discovery is overcome by the need for human contact, which, in a tense unravelling of events, is forcibly challenged by an Aboriginal lawman. The natural world is richly observed and Ruby’s courtship is measured by the turning of the seasons.

$27.99

Praise for Ruby Moonlight

"A compelling and dramatic story told in hauntingly sparse free verse, and one of the best examples of the narrative verse genre in recent memory."
Ali Alizadeh, Overland Literary Journal

"These innovative poems take up traditional narrative voices, bringing past conflicts vividly to life with short lines that are lucid, refined, and luminous... The writing is delicate yet strong, the tone is pitched so well the reader is not distracted by the agile technique that carries the narrative forward."
Judges' Citation, New South Wales Book of the Year Award

"One of the most remarkable things about 'Ruby Moonlight' is the subtlety with which its political implications are handled: Eckermann invites (rather than dictates) political readings of what is, at heart, a simple and highly engaging narrative."
Sarah Holland-Batt, Southerly

Ali Cobby Eckermann

Ali Cobby Eckermann is a Yankunytjatjara poet and artist from South Australia whose work has been published and celebrated around the world. Her poetry collections include little bit long time and the award-winning collection Inside My Mother....

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