Local Natives (Liberator Music) ★★★★

This masterful writer gives a voice to society's despised outsider. Cockroach By Rawi Hage Penguin, 305pp, $32.95

Rawi Hage's powerful novel examining the plight of society's human "vermin" shows us once again that his is a distinct, uncompromising voice, writes Kevin Rabalais.

3/5 MEET THE NATIVES Wednesday 8.30pm, ABC2

THE RHYTHMS OF IRELAND Saturday, 5pm and 8pm: Illawarra Performing Arts Centre Adults $59.90; concessions $49.90; children $44.90 Bookings: 4226 3366 By the end of this visit to Australia, dancer David Moore will have visited more of the country's cities and regional centres than most natives will in their lifetime.