25. Multilingual homes - from 'My Language, My Country'

This episode of Fully Lit comes from our friends at the UTS Multicultural Women's Network, and features two poets, Anne Casey and Nadia Niaz, in conversation with host Elaine Laforteza.

Both Anne and Nadia challenge the dominance of English in Australia by creating bold, multilingual poetry.

What does embracing multilingualism sound like?

How do these poets use language to disrupt, to heal, to remember, and to imagine a different, more ethical way of belonging in Australia?

This is the second episode in a new series called 'My Language, My Country' - the first series on a new UTS podcast called Change the Story. The series explores the Australian tradition of acknowledging Country, and how that tradition might be enriched by embracing the hundreds of languages spoken in Australia.

Guests

Esita Sogotubu hails from Fiji and is the Employability Manager at UTS Careers. Her traditional roots are in Vunuku, Moala, Lau with maternal links to Nayavu, Wainibuka, Tailevu. She is a former international student who has over 15 years experience as a career development practitioner.

Nadia Niaz is the author of The Djinn Hunters and the founding editor of the Australian Multilingual Writing Project. Her work explores multilingual creative expression, translation, ‘belonging’ and relationships with place. She is a Lecturer in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Melbourne.

Anne Casey is originally from the west of Ireland and now lives in Australia. She is the author of six poetry books. Her work is widely published and awarded internationally, ranking in The Irish Times’ Most Read. She has a PhD from UTS where she teaches creative writing.

Prankqueans are an ensemble of artists inspired by ancient Celtic mythology to celebrate all things female and Irish Australian.

Credits

This series was produced on the Lands of the Gadigal People, the Cammeraygal People, the Darug People, and the Guringai People.

Host: Elaine Laforteza

Producer: Masako Fukui

With the support of Jane Curtis, Sarah Gilbert of UTS Impact Studios

Tile artwork by Alexandra Morris.

This podcast was created by the UTS Multicultural Women’s Network and is part of the broader UTS Acknowledgment of Country in Our Languages project.