I don't think I have the words to describe my excitement. Last week on Friday, I received my copy of Mona Magazine, issue 3, and in it is a piece I wrote titled Regional Other. I wrote this piece after visiting a local museum somewhere beyond the Blue Mountains and it was the first time I'd been at a regional museum I think in... forever, despite being a historian.
Coming to the realisation that I had never set foot in a regional museum really stirred something within me; how could I not, I am a historian by profession - does this make me less of a historian? I don't think it does, but still... I really enjoyed writing this piece because I not only contemplated about my place living in a regional town, studying and writing history, but I also contemplated about Australia's regional history more broadly.
I may be a historian, but I am also a migrant, a Muslim and a woman living in a small regional town. Where do I belong?
Does Australia's regional history have space for people like me, who have and come from intersectional backgrounds? I explored how Muslims made their mark in early eighteenth and nineteenth century Australia, first as Macassar traders and then as Afghan cameleers across rural and regional cities and towns. I didn't see their stories on the walls or within the pages of this regional museum I visited. And that's okay. Maybe their stories don't have a place here, maybe they belong elsewhere. But what does this mean for people like myself who come to call regional Australia their home and yet do not see their contributions noted? These are just some of the ideas I explore in my creative non-fiction piece for Mona.
You know what is the best part about Mona Magazine? It supports the stories and voices of women living in rural and regional Australia. All the stories you read in their issues celebrate women's voices and support their writing aspirations. If you'd love to learn more about Mona Magazine visit their website here. If you'd love to support literary magazines like Mona (and authors like myself), please purchase a copy of Issue 3 here!
Until next time,
It is a great story!