Race Power and Justice in Literature

Visiting author Tony Birch

It is not every day that students get to hear from an acclaimed author about the novel they are studying. For Northcote’s Year 10 Race, Power and Justice and VCAL Year 11 Literacy students they were lucky enough to receive a visit from acclaimed author Tony Birch, whose novel ‘The White Girl’ is being studied at Year 10 and collection of short stories ‘Shadowboxing’ in VCAL. 

Birch described ‘The White Girl’ as a novel that commemorates tough and strong Aboriginal women, including those in his family such as his grandmother and mother who had been removed from their families. He discussed how he wanted ‘The White Girl’ to be a book about love and tenderness and described his writing process by reading a passage from the book that conveys the care shown from the grandmother protagonist Odette towards her granddaughter Sissy. 

Many of the students were surprised by the way that Birch felt so passionately about his characters, writing in characters that he grew to hate so much that he killed them off in the first draft but reconsidered and provided a more moderate ending for the character in his final revision of the novel. 

He spoke too about how he wanted to explore the history of white occupation and include non-Aboriginal characters who had empathy for the plight of Odette and Sissy, the central characters, and treated them with respect. In doing so, he draws attention to the way that the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people over time has not been one of total opposition. 

Students had the opportunity to pose some questions, and students asked thoughtful and considered questions about his choices in writing the book and particular characters. In his responses he also spoke of how the characterisation of Henry Lamb in ‘The White Girl’ is a parallel in some ways to the character of Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, which the students had studied earlier in the semester. In describing this character, Birch explained how he felt it important to recognise and value emotional intelligence as Henry Lamb could be considered intellectually challenges but is kind and empathetic towards others. 

The visit was a great opportunity for the students to delve deeper into the messages of Birch’s texts and to understand the inspiration and process undertaken by him as an author in order to craft them. Thanks to Bek Keenan Mount and a Northcote High School parent for their role in organising the event, which was a great success. 

Ms Carrig