Two Tongues

From the 2023 David Unaipon Award winner comes this powerful, poignant poetry collection that celebrates and reclaims Indigenous voices and language.

Written with a tender love for her Yugambeh language, Maria van Neerven reflects on the legacy of colonisation and racism, and the aftermath of intergenerational harm. At the same time, she shines a light on the importance of family and culture, celebrating the Indigenous women who guided and taught her - extraordinary women filled with resilience and strength. In this way, van Neerven reclaims the stories of her ancestors, giving a voice to those who weren't allowed one in the past. Two Tongues regathers what has been stolen to reassemble a life of compassion and - above all - love for family and Blak pride.