A review by archytas
Nganajungu Yagu by Charmaine Papertalk Green

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

I've taken to reading poetry slowly, a poem at a sitting, but Nganajungu Yagu demanded to be read from start to finish, in a single sitting. Papertalk Green has woven this book tightly in a narrative of love, of family, and of the push and pull of growing into adult relationships with your parents. All this in a family wrenched by trauma and strengthened by resistance. 
There's a glossary provided at the back, so you can parse the language and understand the Wadjarri and Badimaya in the poems. It's a slow, but highly rewarding task, bringing the reader into the language far more than with a provided translation.