Greer’s ability to provoke undiminshed

BY ALEX MCDONALD

Germaine Greer was once praised for being a ‘saucy feminist that even men like’. That was before she branded Steve Irwin a ‘self-deluded animal tormentor’. Then came her fan base destroying quip about that ‘devious moron’, Princess Diana.

Our Germaine is a far more effective social commentator when she’s not belittling deceased celebrities. Her most recent essay, On Rage, is a prime example, with its stark analysis of indigenous dispossession and disempowerment.

Showing characteristic acuity and passion, Greer outlines the causes of rage and its aftermath in Aboriginal communities.

In an extract published in the Sydney Morning Herald recently, Greer described how men and women in traditional Aboriginal societies often spent large periods apart from one another.

Greer writes: ‘Being forced to live in a nuclear household could involve kinds of friction and tension that were absent from the traditional lifestyle’ What is obvious is that when the Aboriginal man was dispossessed by the white intruder he lost his moral authority over his family.’

Coming six months after the Rudd Government’s apology to the stolen generations, Greer’s book is one in a series of four titles being published by Melbourne University Press this month.

The others include Blanche d’Alpuget On Longing, David Malouf On Experience and Barrie Kosky On Ecstasy.

MUP publisher Louise Adler says: ‘The choice of what to write about was left up to each writer. We have some deeply moving and personal accounts which reflect each writer’s passion. It is very exciting to be publishing such original and provocative works.’

The outspoken expat has returned home for the Melbourne Writers’ Festival, where she is delivering a keynote address on August 22.

Greer is also appearing at the NSW Teacher’s Federation in Surry Hills this week. Anyone who is easily offended should probably steer clear.