Is Darwin a ‘forgotten literary capital?’: New project to bring the city into national literary spotlight

Darwin is often written out of the conversation about Australia’s literary prowess, but a new research project aims to turn the page on this reputation and bring the Territory’s capital city into the spotlight. 

The project, Re-Mapping the Lost Literary Capital: Darwin/Larrakia Nation, will uncover the scores of novels, plays, short stories, poems, and genre fiction titles which portray Darwin from Federation to the present. 

The project is a collaboration between Charles Darwin University, University of Queensland and Flinders University, funded through the Australian Research Council.

Project investigators University of Queensland’s Associate Professor Stephen Carleton and CDU’s Associate Professor Adelle Sefton-Rowston are no strangers to the misconceptions of Darwin’s literary history and capabilities. 

They hope to highlight active authors, inspire new ones and revive interest in Darwin’s literary history both in the community and around the country. 

“As someone who grew up here and who went to school in Darwin, there was never a novel in the curriculum, never a play, never a short story set in Darwin. We were always reading about other places,” Associate Professor Carleton said.

“I've taught English in high schools here and literary studies at CDU, and I’ve had to make deliberate efforts to represent Darwin or from Darwin authors on the curriculum,” according to Associate Professor Sefton-Rowston.

“What we read makes us feel in a place, not just to be reading about a place but to feel that one belongs in a place and storytelling is very much part of that for the people who live here and are learning here.”

While at the beginning of their research, early indicators show early literature produced by locals and about Darwin discussed race, culture, colonialism, while later literature reflected Darwin’s multiculturalism and were authored by First Nations people and locals of different cultural backgrounds. 

After the team has collected and analysed the literature, they will work with the UQ-hosted AustLit and Flinders University-hosted AusStage databases to offer a series of public lectures and exhibitions at the NT library, as well as guided literary tours of Darwin. The team also plans to produce a textbook introducing the literature of Darwin and Larrakia Nation for future educators, students and researchers. 

“Darwin is a forgotten cultural capital. This is about remembering and creating opportunity and contributing to the city’s cultural life,” Associate Professor Carleton said.

“We want this project to really appeal to everyone across the country, to be able to look to the films and the stories and the plays from here and get a sense of what it could be like to live in Darwin,” said Associate Professor Sefton-Rowston.