Esther Gardiner has made a name for herself as a prolific poet, with an emphasis on using her lyrical writing to express her Aboriginal culture and stories.
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Now the author is sharing her short stories with the community. They tell the imaginary and sometimes true adventures of the Connors gang, Esther’s own nieces and nephews.
The tales, including a real-life episode when a lizard popped out from Esther’s hair at the chemist’s, leaving the children rollicking with laughter, were inspired by her nephew Aaron, who is one of the gang. “I used to read him stories from the books, and he said, ‘No Auntie, I want to be the star of the stories, so can you tell a story without a book?’” she said.
Esther also writes plays, as well as poetry. She reads her stories and other work weekly as a STA-FM presenter for Koala Dreaming on Wednesday afternoons, and will be doing a reading at The Dust Jacket during NAIDOC Week.