Maxine Beneba Clarke

'Against anything I had ever been told was possible, I was turning white. On the surface of my skin, a miracle was quietly brewing . . .'Suburban Australia. Sweltering heat. Three bedroom blonde-brick. Family of five. Beat-up Ford Falcon. Vegemite on toast. Maxine Beneba Clarke's life is just like all the other Aussie kids on her street.Except for this one, glaring, inescapably obvious thing.From one of Australia's most exciting writers, and the author of the multi-award-winning FOREIGN SOIL, comes THE HATE RACE: a powerful, funny, and at times devastating memoir about growing up black in white middle-class Australia.

The Hate Race

The book is called Foreign Soil. Inside its covers, a desperate asylum seeker is pacing the hallways of Sydney's notorious Villawood detention centre, a seven-year-old Sudanese boy has found solace in a patchwork bike, an enraged black militant is on the warpath through the rebel squats of 1960s Brixton, a Mississippi housewife decides to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her son from small-town ignorance, a young woman leaves rural Jamaica in search of her destiny, and a Sydney schoolgirl loses her way.

Foreign Soil

People of African descent have been in Australia for at least 200 years, yet their stories are largely missing from Australian writing. Australians of the African diaspora have arrived here in many different ways- directly from the continent; via the Caribbean, the Americas and the United Kingdom; making the journey to Australia over one generation, or several. What is it like to grow up African in Australia? This anthology, compiled by award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke with curatorial assistance from writers Ahmed Yussuf and Magan Magan, showcases diverse voices, experiences and stories in order to answer that question. Accounts from well-known authors and high-profile cultural and sporting identities sit alongside newly discovered voices of all ages, with experiences spanning regions, cities and generations. All of the pieces call for understanding, oftentimes challenging stereotypes, always demanding respect. Growing Up African aims to defy, question or shed light on the many stereotypes that currently exist about the vibrant extended African community in Australia. Contributors include Faustina Agolley, Santilla Chingaipe, Carly Findlay, Khalid Warsame, Nyadol Nyuon, Tariro Mavondo, Magan Magan and many, many more.

Growing Up African in Australia

When you live in a village at the edge of the No-Go Desert, you need to make your own fun. That's when you and your brothers get inventive and build a bike from scratch, using everyday items like an old milk pot (maybe mum is still using it, maybe not) and a used flour sack. You can even make a numberplate from bark, if you want. The end result is a spectacular bike, perfect for going bumpity-bump over sandhills, past your fed-up mum and right through your mud-for-walls home.A delightful story from multi-award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke, beautifully illustrated by street artist Van T Rudd.

The Patchwork Bike

How Decent Folk Behave

Little one, when we say Black Lives Matter,we're saying black people are wonderful-strong.That we deserve to be treated with basic respect,and that history's done us wrong.From birth to the end of school, in joy and in sorrow, on the trumpet and the djembe, at home and in the community, a black child's parents remind him why Black Lives Matter.A gorgeous and essential picture book for children of all ages from bestselling and award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke.In When We Say Black Lives Matter, a black child's parents explain what the term Black Lives Matter means to them: in protest and song, in joy and in sorrow. I see this picture book as an act of Black Love - I was inspired to write and create it when thinking about how to explain the concept of Black Lives Matter to the young African diaspora kids in my extended family, living in over eight different countries across the world - including America, Australia, Germany, Barbados and England. - Maxine Beneba Clarke, on writing WHEN WE SAY BLACK LIVES MATTERA portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

When We Say Black Lives Matter

In The Best Australian Stories, acclaimed writer Maxine Beneba Clarke brings together our country's leading literary talents. An award-winning short-story writer herself, Clarke selects exceptional stories that resonate with experience and truth, and celebrate the art of storytelling. Previous contributors include Fiona McFarlane, Kate Grenville,Tony Birch, David Malouf, Kirsten Tranter, Anna Krien, Georgia Blain, Peter Goldsworthy, Elizabeth Harrower, Ryan O'Neill and Romy Ash.

The Best Australian Stories 2017

Fashionista

one of the most compelling voices in Australian poetry this decade' - Overland Literary Journal A haunting visit to the International Museum of Slavery, in Liverpool England. A feisty young black girl pushing back against authority. The joy and despair of single parenthood. A love-hate relationship with words. This collection brings the best of a decade-long international poetry career to the page.

Carrying the World

my heart was asking at every turn, and as sure as i breathed: would i want this for my daughter, and if not, why on earth should it be good enough for me beautiful changelings is an incantation, a song, a war cry, a testimonial, a lament, a reckoning and a welcoming. Wrecking-ball revisitings of the myths, mantras and fairy tales fed to girls. Poignant, unashamed tributes to ageing, womanhood, motherhood, and reclaiming your dreams, your boundaries and your time. This explosive new collection celebrates women and girls as the enigmatic wonders they are: beautiful changelings.

Beautiful Changelings

“Clarke is the real deal…” —Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius “A tremendous new voice; a writer of immense talent and depth.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Sterling…a powerful view of the beauty and complexities of globalization.” —Essence From a powerful new voice in international fiction, this prize-winning collection of stories crosses the world—from Africa, London, the West Indies, and Australia—and expresses the global experience. Maxine Beneba Clarke gives voice to the disenfranchised, the lost, and the mistreated in this stunning collection of provocative and gorgeously wrought stories that will challenge you, move you, and change the way you view this complex world we inhabit. Within these pages, a desperate asylum seeker is pacing the hallways of Sydney’s notorious Villawood detention centre; a Black man joins rioters protesting police brutality and swats away the feeling that he might be the next casualty at the hands of the authorities; seven-year-old Sudanese boy has found solace in a patchwork bike; an enraged black militant is on the war-path through the rebel squats of 1960s Brixton; a Mississippi housewife decides to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her son from small-town ignorance; a young woman leaves rural Jamaica in search of her destiny; and an Australian schoolgirl loses her way. In the bestselling tradition of novelists such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Marlon James, this urgent, poetic, and essential work is the perfect introduction to a fresh and talented voice in international fiction.

And Other Stories

A vibrant, thought-provoking collection from one of Australia's most celebrated poets that includes ten never-before-seen poems. we are all just one small disaster away from sinking, and sometimes you only realise when you're gasping for air On a daylight street in Minneapolis Minnesota, a Black man is asphyxiated - by callous knee of an officer, by cruel might of state, and under crushing weight of colony. In Melbourne the body of another woman has been found - this time, after catching a late tram home. The Atlantic has run out of the English alphabet, when christening hurricanes this season. The earth is on fire - from the redwoods of California, to Australia's east coast. The sea draws back, and tsunamis lash out in Samoa and Sumatra. Water rises in Sulawesi and Nagasaki. Bloated cod are surfacing, all along the Murray Darling. The virus arrives, and the virus thrives. Authorities seal the public housing towers up, and truck in one cop to every five residents. Notre Dame is ablaze - the cathedral spire blackened, and teetering. Out in Biloela, the deportation vans have arrived. Every Friday, in cities all across the world, children are walking out of school. The wolves are circling. The wolves are circling. These poems speak of the world that is, and sing for a world that may one day be.

Bold, vibrant, and minimalist illustrations celebrate the joy of expressing oneself through fashion.

Winner of the Victorian Premier's Unpublished Manuscript Award 2013. In Melbourne's western suburbs, in a dilapidated block of flats overhanging the rattling Footscray train lines, a young black mother is working on a collection of stories. The book is called FOREIGN SOIL. Inside its covers, a desperate asylum seeker is pacing the hallways of Sydney's notorious Villawood detention centre, a seven - year - old Sudanese boy has found solace in a patchwork bike, an enraged black militant is on the warpath through the rebel squats of 1960s Brixton, a Mississippi housewife decides to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her son from small - town ignorance, a young woman leaves rural Jamaica in search of her destiny, and a Sydney schoolgirl loses her way. The young mother keeps writing, the rejection letters keep arriving...

Untitled Short Story Collection

A joyous illustrated tribute to bookshops everywhere, and the special place they hold in children's hearts and minds, from of one Australia's most beloved writers. We know a place that's mysterious-magic, a window to lives you can't even imagine. We know a secret world-wakening secret, a brain-boggling secret, on Ballarat Street. Every Saturday, when the chores are done, two children set out on a journey to their local bookshop, a magical place where sneaky stories escape as you peep in the door and there's plentiful magic for each and for all. Monsters, giants, trolls and pirates ahoy! But what happens when some cheeky creatures follow the children home one day? A playful love letter to those wondrous places where secrets and magic live around every corner and between every cover. Written and illustrated by the award-winning Maxine Beneba Clarke as a celebration of the joy of reading, the magic of community and her own favourite bookshop.

We Know a Place

Original Skin

Crackling with energy and flair, this stylish book from Maxine Beneba Clarke—author of The Patchwork Bike and creator of When We Say Black Lives Matter—is all about the power of self-expression. Put on your PASSION. Wear your HEART on your sleeve. YOU’RE A FASHIONISTA! Work it. Rock it. BELIEVE. Sometimes you go for clothes that are comfy-careless or just-blend-in fine. Or maybe you’re in the mood for something more chic-a-bam! Lipstick that shimmers. Knee-high boots for steppin’ out on the town. Fancy-frolic in feathers. Whatever you wear, find something you love and fast-make it your thing. Wear your wardrobe however—chic-a-boom! You’re a fashionista! Alive with bold, vibrant, minimalist illustrations, Maxine Beneba Clarke’s freeform text celebrates the joy of expressing yourself through fashion.

Fashionista: Fashion Your Feelings

Difference is everywhere, just look and see. This whole-wide-big-world is wondrous-unique. A gorgeous picture book about our diverse and wonderful world from award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke and illustrator Isobel Knowles. PRAISE FOR THE PATCHWORK BIKE 'Like all the best writing, The Patchwork Bike asks more questions than it answers, making it a great conversation starter to learn more about other cultures, but it's also a delightful picture book for kids aged three and up that depicts the universal joy that riding a bike bestows.' - Books+Publishing 'This is a wonderfully fast-moving picture book that celebrates the rebellious, the inventive and the just plain entertaining spirit of kids who are left to, rather than on their own devices.' - Picture Book Perusal

Wide Big World

Three siblings who live in a village make their own fun by building a bike. It has a bent bucket seat, bashed tin-can handlebars, and wood-cut wheels--and riding the patchwork bike is the best fun in the whole village.

Maxine Beneba Clarke

About

Books

Join the club