Voicing the Dead

Description

You ask, 'Can the dead speak?' I answer, 'Is this blood that runs in my veins, or ink? I ask that you read me. I ask that you hear me. See me. Touch me. Others have, and tasted my blood...' So writes Jack Ireland, 14 year old English born survivor of the horrors of capture by head hunters. In Voicing the Dead, internationally-awarded author Gary Crew revisits the astonishing story of nineteenth century teenager Jack Ireland who survived - and lived to fight back through his 'never say die' determination and creativity.

Dr Gary Crew is Associate Professor (Creative Writing) at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Living in the mountainous subtropical village of Maleny, Gary is an internationally published and awarded author, winning the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award four times, twice for his novels and twice for his illustrated books. He is crazy about dogs, especially Jack Russell terriers. Also by Gary Crew: Strange Objects, Finding Home, The Cuckoo and In the Beech Forest.

"This book is a fine example of how readers can be compelled to question long-standing principles of how history is recorded. The story is based on fact, narrated by 16-year-old Jack Ireland, one of only two survivors from the wreck of the ill-fated Charles Eaton, which sank in 1834 when swept onto treacherous reefs in Torres Strait. Jack, who was Captain Moores best boy, could not only read and write but also had a unique talent for literature tripping an ability to recognise parallels between the events outlined in various books and what was happening in his own life. The technique draws the reader into a rich literary landscape, while telling a thrilling and at times horrific tale of headhunters, slavery and survival. Gary Crew lays out his intentions from the outset: All that has been told of the events of [Jacks] life must be reconsidered, recreated and recounted and if I am to tell [Jacks] tale in truth, I must give voice to all the dead. So here we have a historical fiction in which Jack gives voice to previously invisible characters: women are present and not hidden behind men, and Irish orphans are heard and stand on the same deck as the children of the wealthy. Even the islanders take centre stage, despite having no written language. Everyone who was not recognised in the historical records of the day has been given a voice. This technique leads the reader to approach all historical documents with greater suspicion and think more deeply about their origins and intentions. Voicing the Dead is one of those rare novels that should be studied in secondary schools and creative writing courses for its unique approach to reviving a long forgotten part of Australian maritime history.5 stars - Robyn Donoghue, Good Reading Magazine"