Book Description

Snake Dancing is the second volume of Roberta Sykes' three volume autobiography, Snake Dreaming. It chronicles Roberta's increasing politicisation and involvement in the Black movement to the time of her invitation from Harvard to take up postgraduate study in the United States. Struggling to overcome the effects of her ordeals in Snake Cradle, Roberta Sykes gradually moves into the national spotlight as a writer and as First Secretary of the Aboriginal Embassy set up in a tent on the lawns of Parliament House. She details the dangerous, demanding and sometimes lonely life of an itinerant activist, and brings a human perspective to events that were often headline news around the world. Snake Dancing is essential reading for those wishing to understand the complex nature of interaction between the races in Australia's recent history. The first volume of her autobiography, Snake Cradle, won the 1997 Age Book of the Year and the 1998 Nitta Kibble awards, and those who were moved by it will continue to be engrossed by Roberta Sykes' remarkable life. 'Roberta... that you not only survived but triumphed is an incredible tribute to you and the human spirit.' - David Suzuki 'Sykes explores the depth of the personal veneer surrounding every Australian who is, like it or not, part of the hidden history of black and white contact in this country. Secrets taken to the grave choke up every cemetery in Australia. A genuine national pride must also accept and accommodate the shame. Sykes' intricate and courageously honest story of her life may help us understand why this needs to be so.' - Alexis Wright, Australian Book Review 'Reading Roberta Sykes is to be engaged by a great tale and by and uncompromisingly fine writer.' - Janine Burke, The Age