Girl in Detention by Safdar Ahmed from his graphic novel ‘Still Alive.’
The State Library of Victoria is running a free online event on 9 November 2021 exploring the representations of immigration in illustrated books, drawing on examples from the Library’s own collection.
One of its organisers, State Library Victoria Librarian Daniel Wee, told ArtsHub that comic books, zines and graphic novels were well suited to telling stories of migration to Australia. However, ‘Though compelling, and often confronting, [they are] too little recognised in our national story.’
Thuy On is Reviews Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the books editor of The Big issue for 8 years. Her debut, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, came out in 2020 and was released by University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP). Her second collection, Decadence, was published in July 2022, also by UWAP. Her third book, Essence, will be published in 2025.
Twitter: @thuy_on Instagram: poemsbythuy
