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teachreadreview's review
5.0
A fantastic anthology of own voice shorts in a variety of genres. I loved how the authors weren't stuffed into a single definition and each piece of work was prefaced with a short description of the individual's background, experiences and intentions. This is a beautiful way to show the diversity of our country. Unfortunately it isn't appropriate for children under the age of 14 due to the odd swear word and mentions of sex.
amrap's review
5.0
It was a privilege to be invited to be a contributor to this anthology which is providing a platform for writers who are of diverse backgrounds to share their stories for a young adult audience. I loved the concept of the anthology, a meeting at the intersection of race, gender, and disability, and reading it was an absolute pleasure. The stories in this collection represent diverse genres memoir, poetry and fiction by writers who are First Nations, People of Colour, LGBTIQA and living with a disability.
In Night Feet Ellen van Neerven writes about Bella, a young girl of Aboriginal background who is using her talent as a soccer player to seek a better life. Graham Akhurst writes a series of haunting poems about the experiences of colonisation on the Indigenous people. Dear Mate by Kyle Lynch is a week in the life of a young job seeker in Kalgoorlie demonstrating the hurdles to finding work.
Embers by Ezekiel Kwaymullina is a poem about the experience of being a dyslexic student. In Harry Potter and the Disappearing Pages Olivia Muscat shares the difficulties in being a visually impaired person and the challenges faced on a day to day basis. Fragments by Mimi Lee is about a young woman's experience of loss and acceptance and the challenges of migration from China. Stars in our Eyes by Jessica Walton is about living with disability and the desperate yearning we all feel to see our differences in TV and media, and about being sensitive to gender norms.
In her story Trouble Kelly Gardiner explores the experiences of being LGBTQA in the 1950s and the attitudes that those who were same sex attracted faced. Sheer Fortune by Jordi Kerr is a metaphorical story that explores our relationships with our bodies. In Telephone Yvette Walker explores the phone call that she would have loved to have been able to make in 1987 when she was taking her first tentative steps toward exploring her sexuality as a lesbian. DNA by Melanie Rodriga explores a young person questioning her gender and sexuality.
Almitra Amongst Ghosts by Rafeif Ismail writes about the metaphorical ghosts that haunt her character as she grapples with her coming out to her mother. In The Other Son Omar Sakr explores the concept of families and loss.
My memoir piece School of Hard Knocks (by Amra Pajalic) is about being a new kid to a school after living in Bosnia for four years and suffering huge culture shock. Autumn Leaves by Wendy Chen is set during 1902 against the backdrop of Australia's Federation and explores the impact of the White Australia policy on the Chinese community. How to Be Different by Michelle Aung Thin is about a multicultural family grappling with racial stereotypes. In The Last Stop by Alice Pung a young man challenges his racial stereotypes after a trip of a lifetime.Border Crossings by Rebecca Lim is a essay explores privilege and systematic injustices that those who are from the intersection face.
This is a great read and a wonderful resources for teachers and educators.
In Night Feet Ellen van Neerven writes about Bella, a young girl of Aboriginal background who is using her talent as a soccer player to seek a better life. Graham Akhurst writes a series of haunting poems about the experiences of colonisation on the Indigenous people. Dear Mate by Kyle Lynch is a week in the life of a young job seeker in Kalgoorlie demonstrating the hurdles to finding work.
Embers by Ezekiel Kwaymullina is a poem about the experience of being a dyslexic student. In Harry Potter and the Disappearing Pages Olivia Muscat shares the difficulties in being a visually impaired person and the challenges faced on a day to day basis. Fragments by Mimi Lee is about a young woman's experience of loss and acceptance and the challenges of migration from China. Stars in our Eyes by Jessica Walton is about living with disability and the desperate yearning we all feel to see our differences in TV and media, and about being sensitive to gender norms.
In her story Trouble Kelly Gardiner explores the experiences of being LGBTQA in the 1950s and the attitudes that those who were same sex attracted faced. Sheer Fortune by Jordi Kerr is a metaphorical story that explores our relationships with our bodies. In Telephone Yvette Walker explores the phone call that she would have loved to have been able to make in 1987 when she was taking her first tentative steps toward exploring her sexuality as a lesbian. DNA by Melanie Rodriga explores a young person questioning her gender and sexuality.
Almitra Amongst Ghosts by Rafeif Ismail writes about the metaphorical ghosts that haunt her character as she grapples with her coming out to her mother. In The Other Son Omar Sakr explores the concept of families and loss.
My memoir piece School of Hard Knocks (by Amra Pajalic) is about being a new kid to a school after living in Bosnia for four years and suffering huge culture shock. Autumn Leaves by Wendy Chen is set during 1902 against the backdrop of Australia's Federation and explores the impact of the White Australia policy on the Chinese community. How to Be Different by Michelle Aung Thin is about a multicultural family grappling with racial stereotypes. In The Last Stop by Alice Pung a young man challenges his racial stereotypes after a trip of a lifetime.Border Crossings by Rebecca Lim is a essay explores privilege and systematic injustices that those who are from the intersection face.
This is a great read and a wonderful resources for teachers and educators.
littlerah's review
4.0
”The danger of a single narrative is that it leaves individuals vulnerable to the dehumanisation that is at the core of all institutions of oppression” (177) – Rafeif Ismail.
It took me far too long to read ‘Meet Me At The Intersection.’ You know when something is going to carry a lot of weight and meaning for so many authors, you just want to find a good time to devour it? That has been me with this anthology. But I can now confirm that Rebecca Lim and Ambelin Kwaymullina have done a fantastic job editing and putting together this collection.
Each piece starts with a bio into the authors life, their experiences and what they’re writing about. This was something I really adored about the collection and enabled me to understand the authors more and why they wrote what they did. I’d love to see this introduced into further anthologies to recognise the importance of authorship and identity.
The pieces were all beautiful, strong representations of diversity, and voices and characters that have gone unheard for far too long in Australia. I felt moved by a number of them and wanted more, full length pieces, extended understandings, to read the entire works of a number of the authors.
“Beat down the door until the powers that be notice that I’m not an infant, nor an invalid, I’m a capable human with wants and aspirations and ambitions, who has every right to explore every avenue open to me and many that are not” (67) - Olivia Muscat.
Among my favourite pieces in the collection were, ‘Stars In Our Eyes,’ ‘Sheer Fortune,’ ‘Almitra Amongst Ghosts,’(second person narratives for the win!) ‘The Other Son’ and ‘Autumn Leaves.’ This is clearly a long list and an indicator of the strengths that these writers present to readers.
‘Meet Me At The Intersection’ is a stepping stone hopefully into a world of further more inclusive and encouraging literature that is human, accessible and equal. Each writer has created something incredible and should be applauded for their work. I wish them all the best in the future and have definitely gained some notable authors to read!
It took me far too long to read ‘Meet Me At The Intersection.’ You know when something is going to carry a lot of weight and meaning for so many authors, you just want to find a good time to devour it? That has been me with this anthology. But I can now confirm that Rebecca Lim and Ambelin Kwaymullina have done a fantastic job editing and putting together this collection.
Each piece starts with a bio into the authors life, their experiences and what they’re writing about. This was something I really adored about the collection and enabled me to understand the authors more and why they wrote what they did. I’d love to see this introduced into further anthologies to recognise the importance of authorship and identity.
The pieces were all beautiful, strong representations of diversity, and voices and characters that have gone unheard for far too long in Australia. I felt moved by a number of them and wanted more, full length pieces, extended understandings, to read the entire works of a number of the authors.
“Beat down the door until the powers that be notice that I’m not an infant, nor an invalid, I’m a capable human with wants and aspirations and ambitions, who has every right to explore every avenue open to me and many that are not” (67) - Olivia Muscat.
Among my favourite pieces in the collection were, ‘Stars In Our Eyes,’ ‘Sheer Fortune,’ ‘Almitra Amongst Ghosts,’(second person narratives for the win!) ‘The Other Son’ and ‘Autumn Leaves.’ This is clearly a long list and an indicator of the strengths that these writers present to readers.
‘Meet Me At The Intersection’ is a stepping stone hopefully into a world of further more inclusive and encouraging literature that is human, accessible and equal. Each writer has created something incredible and should be applauded for their work. I wish them all the best in the future and have definitely gained some notable authors to read!
littlemissstar55's review
4.0
This was an incredible collection of short stories, personal essays, and poems that really captured me from the very first story.
I highly recommend this to every single person ever (not just Australian) to read. Because we could ALL stand to learn more about intersectionalism.
I highly recommend this to every single person ever (not just Australian) to read. Because we could ALL stand to learn more about intersectionalism.
shereadsshenoms's review
3.0
I love the concept of this own voices collection. It's a worthy read that addresses the intersections of race, gender, sexuality and disability and how marginalised identities inform how one grows up and lives in a nation like Australia.
I will admit I borrowed this from the library without know it was aimed at a Young Adult audience, and after reading After Australia which is an incredible anthology of stories, so my views may be influenced by that in part.
Overall it's a great book, but as some other reviewers have noted, I do believe that the quality of the writing varied across the collection. There were some real stand outs for me (Omar Sakr, Alice Pung), while some others felt perhaps a little underdeveloped.
Also, I think perhaps each authors intro leading into their story or memoir work could have gone to the back of the story instead of up front, to let each story hold it's own space before receiving some further contextualisation about the authors identity and intersections.
3.5 stars.
I will admit I borrowed this from the library without know it was aimed at a Young Adult audience, and after reading After Australia which is an incredible anthology of stories, so my views may be influenced by that in part.
Overall it's a great book, but as some other reviewers have noted, I do believe that the quality of the writing varied across the collection. There were some real stand outs for me (Omar Sakr, Alice Pung), while some others felt perhaps a little underdeveloped.
Also, I think perhaps each authors intro leading into their story or memoir work could have gone to the back of the story instead of up front, to let each story hold it's own space before receiving some further contextualisation about the authors identity and intersections.
3.5 stars.
stephaniellejem's review
4.0
There’s a particular structure in this book. First Nation people, LGBTQ+ then people of colour.
The voices in this book is diverse, and each story is a look at the experiences of the intersecting identity.
The voices in this book is diverse, and each story is a look at the experiences of the intersecting identity.
tsana's review
4.0
Meet Me at the Intersection edited by Rebecca Lim and Ambelin Kwaymullina is an anthology filled with intersectional Australian voices. The idea being to highlight all sorts of marginalised writers. Taken as a whole, this results in a very broad and diverse anthology. Although I am familiar with the two editors from the spec fic books they've authored, most of the stories did not have a speculative bent, although there were a few.
Some of the stories were fun to read, some were intentionally uncomfortable, other fell somewhere in between those two extremes and made me think. Note that I use "stories" here in a generic sense to refer to all the pieces in the anthology, even though it included poetry and memoir. My two favourite stories gained that status for very different reasons. ‘Stars in our Eyes’ by Jessica Walton was a delightful celebration of geek culture, while including queer and disabled characters and refreshingly supportive characters. ‘The Last Stop’ by Alice Pung was not at all what I expected from the opening and is a story that firmly fell into the "made me think" category. It tells of the journey of a teen boy who starts off ignorant of Chinese culture but ends up learning that Chinese teenagers are just like him (but live in China). His experiences were starkly contrasted with those of various people around him.
I enjoyed a lot of the other stories too, but since I've written mini reviews of them all, I'll leave them for you to read below if you haven't already seen them in one of my #ReadShortStories posts. I will add, however, that I was a bit sad that the ebook I read didn't include the back cover art, since the (full) cover art is apparently also one of the intersectional pieces making up the whole. It wouldn't have been hard to include the full artwork inside the book (either near the start or at the back) and I'm disappointed that the publisher didn't bother.
Overall, this was a great read. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking to read more diverse voices or stories of Australia's chequered history. I liked how the anthology was structured, with stories grouped thematically, so that it opened with stories by indigenous people, and ended with stories of the migrant experience, with stories about characters who are queer and/or disabled (or overlapping with one of the other groups) in groups in the middle. The whole book is like a thematic rainbow, shading from one group to another, with overlapping stories in between.
~
‘Night Feet’ by Ellen van Neerven — A story about a teenaged girl playing soccer. And a bit how poverty and family circumstances are hurdles to that end. I expect the story would be more exciting for people who are into soccer, which I am not.
‘Dream’ by Graham Akhurst — A poem with formatting that didn’t work on my phone screen and was much more powerful when I was able to read it on the iPad. It’s also the kind of poem that becomes clearer with subsequent readings.
‘Dear Mate’ by Kyle Lynch — A distressing story, in some ways, about a young person who wants a job but has little idea how to get one. Although I didn’t realise how young he was until near the end, which did make it a bit less distressing.
‘Embers’ by Ezekiel Kwaymullina — A sad, short poem about dyslexia.
‘Harry Potter and the Disappearing Pages’ by Olivia Muscat — An essay/memoir about the author going blind at the start of high school and the frustrations of being disabled in modern society.
‘Fragments’ by Mimi Lee — The story of a young Chinese Australian dealing with her grandfather’s death and a difficult family situation. This was an interesting read but in some ways (the mental illness ways more than the grief ways) felt like it ily scratched the surface. I wouldn’t have minded it being longer but I can see why it made sense to leave it where it was. 4/5 30/12
‘Stars in our Eyes’ by Jessica Walton — A wonderful story about geeky teens and adults that made me laugh. Certainly the most fun story so far.
‘Trouble’ by Kelly Gardiner — A story of non-conforming girls in 1950s Melbourne. I enjoyed the local colour even if the end was not quite as I had hoped/shipped.
‘Sheer Fortune’ by Jordi Kerr — A more Australian story that I would have expected from a short summary of it, with some strong New Zealish elements thrown in via the second character. Shifters, lesbians, high school. A nice read.
‘Telephone’ by Yvette Walker — A timey-wimey story in which the main character receives a phone call from her teenage self. As she talks to this version of herself that had been trying to call and LGBT support hotline, she reflects on her life and how she got to where she is now (happily living with her wife). A sweet story, overall.
‘DNA’ by Melanie Rodriga — A story about a queer teenage girl and her interactions with her family and one of her teachers. I found it to be a slightly unusual story, full of direct questions and teen anger but not as many answers as I might have expected.
‘Almitra Amongst Ghosts’ by Rafeif Ismail — A kind of depressing story about not fitting in due to race, religion and queerness, all at once. Written in a lovely style.
‘The Other Son’ by Omar Sakr — An autobiographical story about a father’s death and meeting a half brother for the first time, told by the middle eastern author.
‘School of Hard Knocks’ by Amra Pajalic — A Bosnian girl moves to Australia and starts high school in a rough suburb, where she is bullied. Another autobiographical story.
‘Autumn Leaves’ by Wendy Chen — A nice, if bittersweet, story about a Chinese family in Melbourne around the time of Federation. I quite liked it.
‘How to Be Different’ by Michelle Aung Thin — An autobiographical essay about being different, especially as a young child in primary school.
‘The Last Stop’ by Alice Pung — This story wasn’t at all what I expected. Told from the point of view of a bogan or “feral” teenage boy who enters a competition for a laugh and wins a Rotary Club trip to China. Discovering that the ordinary high school kids in China are just like him significantly changes his world view and opens his eyes to racism. A really good read, in the end, though you had to get past some racism near the start to appreciate the change in the character’s perspective.
‘Border Crossings’ by Rebecca Lim — Another autobiographical essay, this morning me focusing on our interactions and reactions to the world, especially with respect to language.
4 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
Some of the stories were fun to read, some were intentionally uncomfortable, other fell somewhere in between those two extremes and made me think. Note that I use "stories" here in a generic sense to refer to all the pieces in the anthology, even though it included poetry and memoir. My two favourite stories gained that status for very different reasons. ‘Stars in our Eyes’ by Jessica Walton was a delightful celebration of geek culture, while including queer and disabled characters and refreshingly supportive characters. ‘The Last Stop’ by Alice Pung was not at all what I expected from the opening and is a story that firmly fell into the "made me think" category. It tells of the journey of a teen boy who starts off ignorant of Chinese culture but ends up learning that Chinese teenagers are just like him (but live in China). His experiences were starkly contrasted with those of various people around him.
I enjoyed a lot of the other stories too, but since I've written mini reviews of them all, I'll leave them for you to read below if you haven't already seen them in one of my #ReadShortStories posts. I will add, however, that I was a bit sad that the ebook I read didn't include the back cover art, since the (full) cover art is apparently also one of the intersectional pieces making up the whole. It wouldn't have been hard to include the full artwork inside the book (either near the start or at the back) and I'm disappointed that the publisher didn't bother.
Overall, this was a great read. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking to read more diverse voices or stories of Australia's chequered history. I liked how the anthology was structured, with stories grouped thematically, so that it opened with stories by indigenous people, and ended with stories of the migrant experience, with stories about characters who are queer and/or disabled (or overlapping with one of the other groups) in groups in the middle. The whole book is like a thematic rainbow, shading from one group to another, with overlapping stories in between.
~
‘Night Feet’ by Ellen van Neerven — A story about a teenaged girl playing soccer. And a bit how poverty and family circumstances are hurdles to that end. I expect the story would be more exciting for people who are into soccer, which I am not.
‘Dream’ by Graham Akhurst — A poem with formatting that didn’t work on my phone screen and was much more powerful when I was able to read it on the iPad. It’s also the kind of poem that becomes clearer with subsequent readings.
‘Dear Mate’ by Kyle Lynch — A distressing story, in some ways, about a young person who wants a job but has little idea how to get one. Although I didn’t realise how young he was until near the end, which did make it a bit less distressing.
‘Embers’ by Ezekiel Kwaymullina — A sad, short poem about dyslexia.
‘Harry Potter and the Disappearing Pages’ by Olivia Muscat — An essay/memoir about the author going blind at the start of high school and the frustrations of being disabled in modern society.
‘Fragments’ by Mimi Lee — The story of a young Chinese Australian dealing with her grandfather’s death and a difficult family situation. This was an interesting read but in some ways (the mental illness ways more than the grief ways) felt like it ily scratched the surface. I wouldn’t have minded it being longer but I can see why it made sense to leave it where it was. 4/5 30/12
‘Stars in our Eyes’ by Jessica Walton — A wonderful story about geeky teens and adults that made me laugh. Certainly the most fun story so far.
‘Trouble’ by Kelly Gardiner — A story of non-conforming girls in 1950s Melbourne. I enjoyed the local colour even if the end was not quite as I had hoped/shipped.
‘Sheer Fortune’ by Jordi Kerr — A more Australian story that I would have expected from a short summary of it, with some strong New Zealish elements thrown in via the second character. Shifters, lesbians, high school. A nice read.
‘Telephone’ by Yvette Walker — A timey-wimey story in which the main character receives a phone call from her teenage self. As she talks to this version of herself that had been trying to call and LGBT support hotline, she reflects on her life and how she got to where she is now (happily living with her wife). A sweet story, overall.
‘DNA’ by Melanie Rodriga — A story about a queer teenage girl and her interactions with her family and one of her teachers. I found it to be a slightly unusual story, full of direct questions and teen anger but not as many answers as I might have expected.
‘Almitra Amongst Ghosts’ by Rafeif Ismail — A kind of depressing story about not fitting in due to race, religion and queerness, all at once. Written in a lovely style.
‘The Other Son’ by Omar Sakr — An autobiographical story about a father’s death and meeting a half brother for the first time, told by the middle eastern author.
‘School of Hard Knocks’ by Amra Pajalic — A Bosnian girl moves to Australia and starts high school in a rough suburb, where she is bullied. Another autobiographical story.
‘Autumn Leaves’ by Wendy Chen — A nice, if bittersweet, story about a Chinese family in Melbourne around the time of Federation. I quite liked it.
‘How to Be Different’ by Michelle Aung Thin — An autobiographical essay about being different, especially as a young child in primary school.
‘The Last Stop’ by Alice Pung — This story wasn’t at all what I expected. Told from the point of view of a bogan or “feral” teenage boy who enters a competition for a laugh and wins a Rotary Club trip to China. Discovering that the ordinary high school kids in China are just like him significantly changes his world view and opens his eyes to racism. A really good read, in the end, though you had to get past some racism near the start to appreciate the change in the character’s perspective.
‘Border Crossings’ by Rebecca Lim — Another autobiographical essay, this morning me focusing on our interactions and reactions to the world, especially with respect to language.
4 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.