Human? (Ziggy Ramo, Pantera)

For those familiar with the sounds of Ziggy Ramo, Human?—while his debut book—is but the latest in a collection of revolutionary literary works by the artist. Human? is Ramo’s powerful unpacking of Australia’s continued tumultuous relationship with traditional owners, including using the terms Aboriginal, Indigenous and First Nations—he prefers using Original Peoples. The book is heavy with the tones of intergenerational trauma, racism, and the struggle of growing up in a country where Original Peoples are only ‘loved, accepted, or respected if [they] meet an arbitrary list of requirements’. Ramo, a singer and rapper, weaves music through the book (using QR codes), along with his sister’s visual artworks, and his frank words that portray his lived experience of growing up as an Original Person in Australia. The result is a multi-sensory and immersive experience for the reader. Ramo speaks of breaking into the music industry in the face of constant censorship, his father’s reconnection with his Malaita and Wik cultures, and facts that left this reader questioning the history we have been told to believe. Ramo’s ambition to set the record straight with this book is clear as he states, ‘we have been learning from different books, but I hope now we can be on the same page’. A must-read, Human? is a provocative and timely ‘part memoir, part history and part cultural reckoning’, which gives Australia’s dark history a human face.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Eman Mourad is as an Australian-Egyptian emerging writer based on Gadigal land. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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