Global Songlines... why is Truganini in Norway?

I love, as a writer, that it was because of a work of literature, that the dark face of Truganini – heavy with history – came to be painted on a grey wall in Norway, staring down its many whitenesses – some beautiful; some less so. That it was a thoughtful American scholar, Jared Diamond, and his book Guns, Germs and Steel that inspired a young woman from the Basque county, living in Bergen, to recreate in paint and ink the image of the most famous Tasmanian aboriginal; to continue the story; to renew the story; to affirm this story as a global one. I love, as a designer and dabbler in drawing, that the image of Truganini carries through history (and history books) in ways that words never could. And there is something beautiful about the cyclic nature of words and images: the way pictures can inspire such prose and poetry; which inspire new images; which inspire new words; and on and on, in the perpetual motion of inspiration. As an amateur photographer trained in the 1990s in t

Hey Cam, I have been contacted by Walter Wehus with an incredible story. My name is Ariadne, I live in Bergen and I painted Truganini at the arquitecture school, I think you were trying to find me, is it true? It is just amazing... I have no words! I just heard your one poem podcast (I also made my own research about you, pretty easy!) and got gladly surprised with the last one’s theme.      ... Today, I'm doing a poem called      You Bring The Story; I Bring The Coffee ...      when someone says      "No words can describe ..."      they might be surprised      how much CAN be      conjured      ball-parked      called upon      and thrown into relief      with words I had started writing the story to you with “I have no words...” so you see the irony crossing the world.      when someone says      "It's a long story ..."      It's probably not that long.      It's quite likely      they've just never had the chance      to fully tel