Sweatshop anthology puts spotlight on female writers

A new anthology by women of colour across western Sydney aims to bring more stories from diverse communities to the front of Australian literature.

Writer Joy Adan.

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A new anthology by women of colour across western Sydney aims to bring more stories from diverse communities to the front of Australian literature.

Sweatshop Women: Volume Oneincludes short stories and poems from more than 20 writers about love, faith, home and history, and was released on May 3.

The cover of Sweatshop Women: Volume One.

It was produced by the western Sydney based literacy group Sweatshop and edited by Winnie Dunn, of Mt Druitt.

Natalia Figueroa Barroso, of Penrith, had her piece Abuela’s Mark included in the anthology.

She was invited to the Sweatshop Women workshops by another writer and said the moment she joined she knew she had “found my place in Australia where I felt at home, a writers’ group with fellow women from western Sydney of migrant backgrounds”.

“The writing process was simple; we wrote, we read out loud, we received criticism that stung truth and we rewrote,” she said.

Writer Joy Adan.

Fellow writer Joy Adan, of Blacktown, said the “connections and community I’ve made through this movement is something I’ll always cherish”.

“When the participants were introducing themselves at the first workshop, I looked around the room and was moved by how many cultures and creeds were represented in the circle we sat in,” she said. “I realised it was the first time in my adult life where I’d been in a room containing only women of colour; the voices I was listening to have been either absent or diminished in so many of my workplaces, the books I’ve read, and the discussions I’ve listened to and watched in the public arena.

Writer Natalia Figueroa Barroso.

“I’m so grateful to have discovered a safe space where we can dedicate the time and attention to sharing stories that are usually left untold or ignored. I’ve learnt how important diverse representation is in Australian literature, and that it’s the details that we provide about our unique experiences that help break the damaging stereotypes and homogenous portrayals of characters from cultural or religious minorities.”

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