Poetry in First Languages
Gūgarra Djedjembēn Nadaji
Mah Mah Mah
Yallumba Būrajāh Banggliga
~ Jacob Morris, Ethan Bell and Adrian Webster from 'Banggliga'
Delivered by Red Room Poetry and developed by Gunai poet Kirli Saunders, Poetry in First Languages (PIFL) celebrates, shares and preserves knowledge of First Nations languages and culture through poetry, music, dance and art. PIFL aims to support students to find strength in their cultural identities through language learning and connecting to Country, Culture and Community with the intention of enhancing overall wellbeing and knowledge.
Program goals (2018–2020)
- 25 commissioned First Nations poets, emerging, mid-career and established
- Creation of language group-specific learning resources aligned with Australian Curriculum
- First Nations poets, Elders and Language Custodians working directly with 1,000 First Nations students
- Performance and publication of student poems via creative installations and the RR website
- A print and a digital anthology of First Language poems collected during the project in 2020
- Professional Development sessions (3 per year) for teachers
- Independent evaluation conducted by BYP Group and by UTS
Poems
Bahloo , Bury me , 2560 , Heart Thunderstorm , Rain dancing... , Barka – murrdie (Darling, black person) , Un-named , Ngayrayagal didjurigur (Soon enough) , My City , The Wounded BraveResearch
Research on the impact of PIFL on educational outcomes, connection, identity and wellbeing:
- Poetry in First Languages Evaluation by Jackie Bailey, BYP Group (2019)
- “Finding new words to talk about ourselves”: Exploring the relationship between self-concept clarity and language by Eleanor Carless, University of Technology Sydney (2019)
Contact media@redroompoetry.org to access the full report by Eleanor Carless.
Strengthening Language and connecting to Country
Dharawal 2019
Filmed by Tad Souden
Starting our Language journey together
Dharawal 2018
Filmed by Craig Holbrook