Jack Davis (playwright)

Jack Leonard Davis was born in Perth, Western Australia, where he spent most of his life and later died. He identified with the Noongar people, and he included some of this language into his plays. The first five years of Davis' life were spent on a farm in Waroona, Western Australia with his ten siblings. Under the Australian policy passed in 1890, children who had both a full-blood Aboriginal parent and a non-Aboriginal parent were considered half-castes, Davis and his brother were among 400 Aboriginal people that were "offered" work at the Moore River Native Settlement considered as a social measure by the government. After Jack Davis and his brother Harold returned home to Yarloop after working at Moore River, Harold went to fight in World War II. == Career ==

Davis pursued many labour-intensive jobs before he committed to writing. This included being a stockman, a horse trainer, a drover, a mill worker, a driver in various methods of transportation and a kangaroo hunter. He became the manager of the Aboriginal Advancement Council Centre in Perth from 1969 to 1973. He then transitioned into becoming an editor at the Aboriginal Publications Foundation from 1973 to 1979, which published a magazine called Identity that focused on recognising Aboriginal literature. (NAIWOLDA). One of the organisation's priorities was to establish an independent national Black Australian publishing house. == Works ==

Jack Davis began his writing career by publishing a collection of poems called The First Born in 1970. He later published his second collection of poetry called Jagardoo in 1977, which was illustrated by Harold Thomas (who also designed the Aboriginal Australian flag). Kullark Davis' play Kullark, translated to "home" is often considered by academics as a documentary, detailing the beginning of white settlement in Western Australia in 1829. No Sugar Davis' play No Sugar was first published in 1986 and achieved great acclaim; receiving the Australian writers Guild Award (AWGIE) for best stage play, the year it was published. The play was set in the 1930s during the Great Depression and tells the story of an Aboriginal family that is removed from their home and forced to work on the Moore River Native Settlement. No Sugar is currently in the Victorian High School Syllabus for students who are in the English as an Additional Language (EAL) course for the Higher School Certificate (HSC). However, as mentioned in The Sydney Morning Herald, there is debate over whether the themes and inclusion of the Nyoongah language are too complex for students who are trying to learn the fundamentals of the English. Barungin Davis' play Barungin was published in 1989 and translates to "Smell the Wind" in the Nyoongah language. The play focuses on the high incarceration rate of Aboriginal people and the large number of deaths of Aboriginal in custody. During the year the play was published, Aboriginal Australians accounted to ten percent of the national average of people in jail. The play is set in Western Australia, where the incarceration rate of Aboriginal people was 35%. ==Recognition and awards==

Davis' work and contributions were recognised by the Order of the British Empire (BEM) in 1976, the Order of Australia Award in 1985 and two honorary doctorates from the University of Western Australia and Murdoch University. Academic Adam Shoemaker, who has covered much of Davis' work and Aboriginal Australian literature, has said that he was one of "Australia's most influential Aboriginal authors". His plays were recognised internationally and were performed in Canada and England. == Themes and analysis ==

Aboriginality and Aboriginalism Academics refer to the concepts Aboriginality and Aboriginalism when analysing Davis' work. According to academics, Davis's work encapsulates these themes by constructing Western thought in his work and using the Nyoongah native language as a form of Aboriginal empowerment. His childhood in Yarloop has been featured in his poetry. His poem "Magpie" was influenced by his walk home from school through the jarrah forests and the wild life: He wrote another poem about his experience of making his own bow and arrow and killing a robin redbreast which he felt great remorse for. == List of works ==

Plays • Kullark (1972) • The Dreamers (1982) • No Sugar (1985) • Honeyspot (1985) • Moorli and the Leprechaun (1986) • Burungin (1988) • Plays from Black Australia (1989) • In Our Town (1990) Poetry • The First-born and other poems (1970) • The Black Tracker (1970) • Jagardoo : Poems from Aboriginal Australia (1978) • John Pat and Other Poems (1988) Publisher Dent Australia • Black Life : poems (1992) • Wurru : poem from Aboriginal Other works • Jack Davis : A life-story (1988) • ''A Boy's Life'' (1991) • Paperbark : A Collection of Black Australian Writings (1992) ==References==