Personal Score

Personal Score is a poetry collection that explores sport, identity, and body through Ellen van Neerven's perspective as a queer Mununjali writer. The book captures moments from playing basketball, soccer, swimming, and watching sports in youth leagues to professional matches. Van Neerven interlinks their experiences of gender, competition, and athleticism with broader reflections on colonial histories within Australian sports. The poems move between personal memories and commentary on racism, gender expectations, and belonging in sporting spaces. The collection interweaves sport metaphors and references with discussions of queerness, First Nations identity, and coming of age. Through both longer narrative pieces and shorter imagistic poems, van Neerven examines how sports can be sites of both exclusion and empowerment. The work speaks to universal themes of finding one's place while highlighting specific cultural and personal intersections. Sport becomes a lens through which to view power, community, and transformation.

There are not enough internet reviews to create a summary of this book. Instead, here is a summary of reviews of Ellen van Neerven's overall work: Readers connect strongly with van Neerven's exploration of identity and cultural heritage. On Goodreads, numerous reviews highlight the author's ability to weave Indigenous storytelling with contemporary themes. What readers liked: - Poetic language and vivid imagery, particularly in descriptions of landscape - Authentic representation of queer and Indigenous experiences - Experimental narrative structures that blend traditional and modern forms - Direct, uncompromising voice in poetry collections What readers disliked: - Some found the non-linear narratives challenging to follow - Several mentioned difficulty connecting with certain experimental sections - A few reviews noted uneven pacing in longer works Ratings across platforms: - "Heat and Light": 3.8/5 on Goodreads (500+ ratings) - "Throat": 4.1/5 on Goodreads (300+ ratings) - "Comfort Food": 3.9/5 on Goodreads (200+ ratings) Individual reviewers often cite the emotional impact of van Neerven's work. One Goodreads reviewer noted: "Their writing creates a space where identity and belonging feel both personal and universal."

The Long Game by Meiki Jenkins Women's soccer, complex relationships, and queer identity intersect in this story of an athlete navigating professional sports and personal growth.

Game Face by Bella Mackie A sports journalist uncovers dark truths about gender discrimination and power dynamics in professional athletics while following a women's rugby team.

The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe The paths of a teenage volleyball player and her neighbor cross as they explore sexuality, belonging, and the physical demands of competitive sports.

Girls Can't Hit by T.S. Easton A young boxer defies gender norms and family expectations to pursue her passion in the ring while discovering her own strength.

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn The story follows a female athlete in Jamaica as she balances cultural expectations, sexuality, and her dedication to swimming.

🌟 Ellen van Neerven is a Mununjali Yugambeh writer from South East Queensland who brings their experience as a non-binary First Nations person into their poetry 📚 "Personal Score" explores themes of gender, sexuality, and sport - particularly focusing on soccer as both a personal passion and a lens through which to examine identity 🏆 The collection was shortlisted for the 2021 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and the 2021 John Bray Poetry Award ⚽ Many poems in the collection were inspired by van Neerven's experiences playing soccer, including their time with the Indigenous National Football Championships 🎭 The book weaves together multiple narrative threads, including family history, queer identity, and colonialism, while using sport as a metaphor for broader social and political struggles