Review of A Companion to the Works of Kim Scott by BELINDA WHEELER (Ed.)

A review on the book A Companion to the Works of Kim Scott edited by Belinda Wheeler

Straw Hat Players programs, 1977 season (1977)

Barry Allar, John Arndt, Barbara Barrett, Mindy Braunagel, Jim Buske, Carol Dreher, Bonnie Flesland, Kelly Gallagher, David Georgina, Thomas Gunslaus, Wayne Gustafson, Virginia Haggert, Eileen Halvorson, Jeannette Harren, Victoria Kesler, Daniel LaRocque, Ron Larson, Dayton Larson, Dan Leonar, John Mark Lipps, Ron Mahla, Kim Martin, Jan Maxwell, David Moberg, Kim Moerer, Lee Morrow, Jack Pence, Peter Pomonis, Michael Pratt, Steve Robson, Jean Rohn, Jaclyn Ross, Kristin Rudrud, William Scharpen, Barbara E. Scott, Dan Sershen, Connie Sherwood, John Steele, Scott Stewart, Jeffrey Thorson, Debra Toso, Jerry verDorn, Kathy Wald, Frederick Winship, Ron Zastrowhttps://red.mnstate.edu/shp_programs/1012/thumbnail.jp

Noongar Mambara Bakitj

Noongar Mambara Bakitj was created as part of an Indigenous language recovery project led by Kim Scott and the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project

Can You Anchor a Shimmering Nation State via Regional Indigenous Roots? Kim Scott talks to Anne Brewster about That Deadman Dance

This interview focuses mainly on Kim Scott’s new novel That Deadman Dance which won the regional Commonwealth Writers Prize (Southeast Asian and Pacific region) and the Miles Franklin Award. The topics of conversation include Scott’s involvement in the Noongar language project (and the relationship of this project to the novel), the novel itself, the challenges of writing in English, the resistance paradigm and indigenous sovereignty and nationalism

The Courier, Volume 23, Issue 21, April 27, 1990

Stories: ISO Brings Seoul\u27s Ex-Mayor To CD For International Week CD Enrollment Rises 4.2 Percent Briggs Receives \u27Faculty Of The Year\u27 Award Earth Day Lands At CD Speakers Talk About Our Earth At Wetlands Appreciation Day Trees Planted To Commemorate CD’s Wetlands Appreciation Day Tolstoy\u27s Adaptation ‘Strider’ Definitely A Hit \u27Dreamgirls\u27 Make Debut On AC Mainstage People: Kim Yong-nae Jodie Briggs Scott T. Jones Steve Van Matre Scott Wager Lynn Fanche

Speaking of the Raj: Kipling, Forster, and Scott on the English Language in British India

In my thesis I examine how language, particularly the English language, participated in the Raj, as depicted thematically in Rudyard Kipling\u27s Kim (1901), E. M. Forster\u27s A Passage to India (1924), and Paul Scott\u27sThe Raj Quartet (1966-1975): The Jewel in the Crown (1966), The Day of the Scorpion (1968), The Towers of Silence (1971), and A Division of the Spoils (1975). I show that all three authors portray language as central to British colonialism in India; the connection between the English language and the Empire grows increasingly problematic as the linguistic situation becomes a metaphor for the state of the doomed Raj. In the section analyzing Kipling\u27s Kim, I argue that language functions as a vital, yet limited colonial tool used by what I call Kipling\u27s wise British administrator in preserving the empire. The text connects the English language with order, rationality, and military efficiency while in Kim the Oriental languages facilitate relational and spiritual pursuits. As Kipling\u27s wise administrator must intimately know and be responsible for the Indian people, both sets of languages complement each other and are needed for effective management of the realm. British characters, however, are depicted as linguistically superior to Indians in acquiring languages, an ability that Kim uses to justify imperialism in India. Indian characters, in contrast, fail to acquire fluency in English and thus lack the rationality and order that Kipling depicts as necessary for self-government. I further argue that in Kim Kipling uses linguistic relations didactically to present his utopian vision of how the empire ought to governed. The text also provides negative examples to illustrate that British imperialists should not be scornfully ignorant of India\u27s people, cultures, and languages. I posit that Kipling not only perceived threats to the Raj, but wrote Kim as a warning to a linguistically snobbish Britain. In the section discussing E. M. Forster\u27s A Passage to India, I argue that the English language catalyzes the novel\u27s cultural and personal conflicts. Both Indians and Britons reveal very different methods of interpreting and employing language. British characters use language to discover truth and to order reality, an enterprise that proves to be nearly impossible in Forster\u27s India. In contrast, Indian characters often employ language in what Forster\u27s narrative voice describes as truth of mood, using words that enhance a situation\u27s aura but may or may not be intended literally. Members of each group frequently misinterpret the speech of members of the other group; this miscommunication leads to the most tragic conflict of the novel, the Marabar Caves incident. The novel suggests that only through mutual affection can miscommunication be avoided or kept at a minimum. Although Forster\u27s narrative voice appears often sympathetic to the Indians\u27 plight, I further argue that it distances itself from both Indian and British groups. In the third section I argue that Paul Scott\u27s The Raj Quartet uses the English language thematically to expose the illusions and lamentable failures of the Raj. By depicting the persecution of Scott\u27s Hari Kumar, an Indian raised to speak and think as a Briton, the text reveals that the Empire rests not on objective truths, but rather on illusions. Language in general and English in particular are exposed as culturally based and culturally subjective; English, therefore, fails to be the common, uniting language for multi-tongued India. Further, historical accounts of the dying Raj are presented as subjective and fragmented, yet characters persistently write such accounts in an effort to bring order to the turbulent period. I additionally argue that Scott\u27s Raj Quartet inverts Kipling\u27s Kim and exposes the myth of the colonial Bildungsroman. Scott distorts Kipling\u27s wise, linguistically diverse British administrator into the sadistic, oppressive Merrick who employs language as a torture device. In this context, many characters sympathetic to the Indians\u27 plight abandon language altogether--especially English, with its cultural and political baggage--and adopt silence. Other sympathetic characters pursue linguistic expression, but do so more privately, seeking order and understanding of the Raj\u27s chaotic wreckage. Because these novels of Kipling, Forster, and Scott reveal a respect for India, her peoples, and her cultures--each expressed in its own way--never do they advocate the complete domination of the English language over the Indian tongues. Even Kipling\u27s Kim limits English\u27s domain, supports the Indian peoples\u27 retention of their own languages, and even advocates linguistic diversity among Britons. Forster and Scott more pessimistically depict problems encountered when a language is transplanted into a country whose forms challenge the Western mind. Yet all three authors implicate the English language to share blame for the Raj\u27s troubles and, ultimately, its failure

Speaking of the Raj: Kipling, Forster, and Scott on the English Language in British India

In my thesis I examine how language, particularly the English language, participated in the Raj, as depicted thematically in Rudyard Kipling\u27s Kim (1901), E. M. Forster\u27s A Passage to India (1924), and Paul Scott\u27sThe Raj Quartet (1966-1975): The Jewel in the Crown (1966), The Day of the Scorpion (1968), The Towers of Silence (1971), and A Division of the Spoils (1975). I show that all three authors portray language as central to British colonialism in India; the connection between the English language and the Empire grows increasingly problematic as the linguistic situation becomes a metaphor for the state of the doomed Raj. In the section analyzing Kipling\u27s Kim, I argue that language functions as a vital, yet limited colonial tool used by what I call Kipling\u27s wise British administrator in preserving the empire. The text connects the English language with order, rationality, and military efficiency while in Kim the Oriental languages facilitate relational and spiritual pursuits. As Kipling\u27s wise administrator must intimately know and be responsible for the Indian people, both sets of languages complement each other and are needed for effective management of the realm. British characters, however, are depicted as linguistically superior to Indians in acquiring languages, an ability that Kim uses to justify imperialism in India. Indian characters, in contrast, fail to acquire fluency in English and thus lack the rationality and order that Kipling depicts as necessary for self-government. I further argue that in Kim Kipling uses linguistic relations didactically to present his utopian vision of how the empire ought to governed. The text also provides negative examples to illustrate that British imperialists should not be scornfully ignorant of India\u27s people, cultures, and languages. I posit that Kipling not only perceived threats to the Raj, but wrote Kim as a warning to a linguistically snobbish Britain. In the section discussing E. M. Forster\u27s A Passage to India, I argue that the English language catalyzes the novel\u27s cultural and personal conflicts. Both Indians and Britons reveal very different methods of interpreting and employing language. British characters use language to discover truth and to order reality, an enterprise that proves to be nearly impossible in Forster\u27s India. In contrast, Indian characters often employ language in what Forster\u27s narrative voice describes as truth of mood, using words that enhance a situation\u27s aura but may or may not be intended literally. Members of each group frequently misinterpret the speech of members of the other group; this miscommunication leads to the most tragic conflict of the novel, the Marabar Caves incident. The novel suggests that only through mutual affection can miscommunication be avoided or kept at a minimum. Although Forster\u27s narrative voice appears often sympathetic to the Indians\u27 plight, I further argue that it distances itself from both Indian and British groups. In the third section I argue that Paul Scott\u27s The Raj Quartet uses the English language thematically to expose the illusions and lamentable failures of the Raj. By depicting the persecution of Scott\u27s Hari Kumar, an Indian raised to speak and think as a Briton, the text reveals that the Empire rests not on objective truths, but rather on illusions. Language in general and English in particular are exposed as culturally based and culturally subjective; English, therefore, fails to be the common, uniting language for multi-tongued India. Further, historical accounts of the dying Raj are presented as subjective and fragmented, yet characters persistently write such accounts in an effort to bring order to the turbulent period. I additionally argue that Scott\u27s Raj Quartet inverts Kipling\u27s Kim and exposes the myth of the colonial Bildungsroman. Scott distorts Kipling\u27s wise, linguistically diverse British administrator into the sadistic, oppressive Merrick who employs language as a torture device. In this context, many characters sympathetic to the Indians\u27 plight abandon language altogether--especially English, with its cultural and political baggage--and adopt silence. Other sympathetic characters pursue linguistic expression, but do so more privately, seeking order and understanding of the Raj\u27s chaotic wreckage. Because these novels of Kipling, Forster, and Scott reveal a respect for India, her peoples, and her cultures--each expressed in its own way--never do they advocate the complete domination of the English language over the Indian tongues. Even Kipling\u27s Kim limits English\u27s domain, supports the Indian peoples\u27 retention of their own languages, and even advocates linguistic diversity among Britons. Forster and Scott more pessimistically depict problems encountered when a language is transplanted into a country whose forms challenge the Western mind. Yet all three authors implicate the English language to share blame for the Raj\u27s troubles and, ultimately, its failure

Book Reviews

That Deadman Dance (Kim Scott) (Reviewed by Rich Carr, University of Alaska Fairbanks)The Waterboys (Peter Docker) (Reviewed by Nicole Gurley, University of Maryland)Prohibited Zone (Alastair Sarre) (Reviewed by John Fletcher, University of Edinburgh)Bereft (Chris Womersley) (Reviewed by Hans Burger, University of Alaska Fairbanks)Farming Ghosts (Jena Woodhouse) (Reviewed by Patrick Barney, Cincinnati, Ohio)End of the Night Girl (Amy T. Matthews) (Reviewed by Sarah Doetschman, Fairbanks, Alaska)Dark Bright Doors (Jill Jones) (Reviewed by Greg Lyons, Woodridge, IL)The West: Australian poems 1989–2009 (John Mateer) (Reviewed by Edward Kim, Seattle, Washington)Symptoms of Homesickness (Nathanael O’Reilly) (Reviewed by Melina Draper, Fairbanks, Alaska