Yearly Archives: 2020

Tennessee is very much a part of “The South”, and all the complex and tangled history that comes with that. Landlocked, and bordered by eight other states (seven of which belong to “The South” according to the U.S. Census Bureau), the state is vertically sliced into three regions. Even without leaving the central one – […]

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In communities without a written language, culture is passed down through the oral traditions of art, story-telling, music, and dance. Even architecture and weaponry can signify meaning. In Papua New Guinea, there are more than more than 850 discrete spoken languages, and until recently, none of them were written down. Even today, adult literacy sits […]

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When you grow up and live in The Colonies, a visit to England can feel like a cultural homecoming. So much is familiar! You recognise places you’ve never been, and half-remember stories you’ve never heard. I had always wanted to visit the Lake District: images of that pastoral countryside had somehow taken on a mythical […]

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When I was young, I had a book with pictures of children around the world in their traditional National Costumes. I found the concept difficult to understand, given that where I lived, people dressed differently from each other, and fashion trends changed with every season. I find it even more remarkable, these countless years later, […]

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‘My father says there has been a rainforest here for over a hundred million years.’ So begins the stunningly beautiful children’s book Where The Forest Meets The Sea by Jeannie Baker. This picture book about the Daintree Rainforest in Far North Queensland is illustrated entirely in sumptuous mixed-media collages that live in one’s memory long […]

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