Parramatta: A Dictionary of Place and Memory is a unique meditation on place and memory by Yumna Kassab, the inaugural Parramatta Laureate in Literature. Kassab is a highly regarded author of six works of fiction, and has been shortlisted for several major literary awards.
In thinking about the dictionary, I ask what is the dictionary here. It is me and my memories. The dictionary is Parramatta itself as the place that is the backdrop to my memories.
As the inaugural laureate, Yumna Kassab set herself the task of collecting her observations and thoughts on living in Parramatta, now one of the country’s most important economic, political and cultural centres. Employing the dictionary form, the work is at once, as she says, ‘memoir and reflection and vision and gathering and story and documentary’. The entries, from A to Z, cover a wide range of topics, from the uses of language and Kassab’s favourite authors and books, to the fortunes (and misfortunes) of the Western Sydney Wanderers; from reflections on beauty, silence, colonisation and friendship to an appreciation of clouds and sunlight, parks and squares, and the city’s cafés, the places where she writes. The entries also offer points of departure, through memory and association, to other places – to Lebanon, Uruguay and especially to Palestine, whose fate casts a deep shadow over her daily experiences. It is a personal dictionary in other words, driven by feeling and admiration and a sense of responsibility, one which, in an unassuming manner, presents an intimate portrait of its compiler. As Kassab writes, ‘It was my idea that a dictionary could tell the story of a person (me) in connection with a place (Parramatta) with enough flexibility to take in detours, digressions, musings, and general quirkiness.’
Useful Parramatta Dictionary:
* Sydney Review of Books online version of the dictionary with the letters C, S, T, W, M, N, O, P with photos
* ArtsHub article by Carielyn Tunion on the digital version the dictionary
* Meet the Author Who Wrote a Dictionary about Parramatta by Mostafa Rachwani in the Sydney Morning Herald
* Profile for the Powerhouse Parramatta by Farz Edraki with accompanying photos by Justin Nacua, one of which ended up being used for the cover of the dictionary
* Podcast interview with James Jiang, editor of Sydney Review of Books, to celebrate the launch of the digital version of the dictionary
* ABC article to coincide with Parramatta Laureate in Literature announcement by Rosemary Bolger
* Article about the dictionary by Sonia Nair in Books+Publishing
Yumna Kassab 