Published 19 November 200920 November 2009 · Main Posts The African Theatre Project Maxine Beneba Clarke Yeah, I know it’s daggy to spruik your own mum’s performances, and I don’t really have to, since the play sold out even before tonight’s opening night but I just wanted to tell you a little about the African Theatre Project’s first staged storytelling My Name is Sud: After being showcased at this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival, Blacktown City Council’s African Theatre Project presents its first major production, My Name is Sud, written by Yuol Yuol, Akoi Majak, Monica Kualba and John Garang. A family has escaped the conflicts of war in Sudan to face the conflicts of freedom in Sydney. Akoi dreams of being a writer. Her brother Machar struggles for a new identity. Their mother Kuei, fears losing her son to the”streets of Blacktown” and to his Australian girlfriend. “My skin is black, my eyes are black. How can my parents fear I will lose my “Africaness”, I will always be black but in my own way.” Blacktown’s emerging Sudanese community speak for themselves in this exciting work. Written by a youth ensemble of first time theatre writers, mentored by Blacktown Arts Centre’s African Theatre Project. You can also read more about how the project has affected the lives of participants here. If you’re in NSW, you can also find out more about this project on tomorrow’s Stateline, which will feature the My Name is Sud cast and writers. The play is sold out, but if you’re in the region there’s a waiting list and if you make enough noise, the season might be extended…or if you’re a Melbournite you could bid for the cost of my flight and ticket. Nope, I was joking: Mum would kill me. Dates and details available here. Maxine Beneba Clarke Maxine Beneba Clarke is an Australian author and slam poet of Afro- Caribbean descent. Her short fiction collection Foreign Soil won the 2015 ABIA Award for Best Literary Fiction and the 2015 Indie Award for Best Debut Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Her memoir, The Hate Race, her poetry collection Carrying the World, and her first children’s book, The Patchwork Bike, will be published by Hachette in late 2016. More by Maxine Beneba Clarke › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays First published in Overland Issue 228 8 September 202312 September 2023 · Main Posts Announcing the 2023 Judith Wright Poetry Prize ($9000) Editorial Team Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets seeks poetry by writers who have published no more than one collection of poems under their own name (that is writers who’ve had zero collections published, or one solo collection published). It remains one of the richest prizes for emerging poets, and is open to poets anywhere in the world. In 2023, the major prize is $6000, with a second prize of $2000 and a third prize of $1000. All three winners will be published in Overland. First published in Overland Issue 228 8 September 202315 September 2023 · Main Posts Announcing the 2023 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize ($6500) Editorial Team Supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, and named after the late Neilma Gantner, this prize seeks excellent short fiction of up to 3000 words themed around the notion of ‘travel’; imaginative, creative and literary interpretations are strongly encouraged. This competition is open to all writers, nationally and internationally, at any stage of their writing career.
