INSPIRED by his life growing up in the South East, former Bordertown resident Alex Dunkin has launched his first book – Fair Day – this week.
Set in the fictional seaside holiday town of Founders Bay – which is modelled on towns throughout the region including Kingston and Robe – Fair Day tackles behaviours and attitudes commonly accepted among white Australians as they go about celebrating Australia Day and what it means to them.
“Australia Day as a celebration of national pride has become a contentious issue through discussion of its meaning and changing the date, so it seemed an ideal backdrop to explore other Australian behaviours and attitudes that perhaps we take for granted,” Mr Dunkin said.
“Each year around Australia Day I would watch the commentary and was unsure of what the public holiday actually meant to me, usually I would go to work and enjoy the extra hourly pay.
“But I was also interested in what it meant to other people – when it came to writing Fair Day I sought out these different ideas on Australia Day and what it means to be Australian in general.
“When I had the opportunity to confront these issues through my research I was excited to challenge my own preconceptions and those I have been exposed to.”
A creative component of Mr Dunkin’s recently completed PhD research project, Fair Day introduces cannibale, a contempory grotesque Italian genre to Australian audiences.
“Cannibale has existed in Italy for a couple of decades, but has so many cultural and language references that translating them is very difficult, bordering on impossible, particularly when it comes to making sure the author’s full intent comes across,” Mr Dunkin said.
“There are some restrictions for authors who write in this genre – writing in this style means that I can only write from my own social and cultural experience, which means that I take on Australia Day from the point of view of an Anglo Celtic Australian who grew up in a country town.
“The plot then needs to explore the worst case scenario of these experiences, beginning with small steps that slowly escalate into extreme but plausible and logically consistent situations.”
Keen to continue his writing career, Mr Dunkin is currently working on a book which will share the stories of the elderly LGBTIQ community.
“I am currently finalising the first draft of the book after interviewing a range of LGBTIQ people,” he said.
“Their stories are amazing with many different experiences shared.”
Fair Day is now available.
