MarkMcKenna The culture wars make it difficult to see what this moment is: an opportunity to deepen our knowledge of Indigenous people âGiven the popularity of Bruce Pascoe and Dark Emu, and the widespread historical illiteracy regarding Australiaâs First Nations people, much is at stake.â Photograph: Vicky Shukuroglou âGiven the popularity of Bruce Pascoe and Dark Emu, and the widespread historical illiteracy regarding Australiaâs First Nations people, much is at stake.â Photograph: Vicky Shukuroglou Thu 24 Jun 2021 21.40 EDT Last modified on Thu 24 Jun 2021 23.41 EDT The inaugural Headland Writers festival at Tathra, on the far south coast of NSW, 15 May. The small community hall was packed with over 200 people. Unable to find a seat, many stood at the back or shuffled along the side-walls. Despite the icy temperatures and gale-force winds outside, theyâd come to see Bruce Pascoe, the acclaimed author of Dark Emu, which has sold over 250,000 copies, and whose latest book, Loving Country (co-authored with Vicky Shukuroglou) had just been released.