I dived and resurfaced with some of the best poetry I read in the last half of 2019 dripping through my fingers … ‘The Vulture and the Body’ by Ada Limón What if, instead of carrying // a child, I am supposed to carry grief? The great black scavenger flies parallel now, / each of
My recent trip to Canada filled me with joy. Here’s why … Lakes, mountains and Indigenous wisdom I was gobsmacked by the natural beauty of Waterton National Park, the Rockies and Algonquin Provincial Park and, despite it being the height of the tourist season, I felt blessed by their serenity. One of the best interpretive
From hushed puppies to envelope poems … there’s plenty here to keep you fireside and philosophising during the last few weeks of winter. Apparently … There’s always so much to love in joanne burns’ poetry collections and apparently (Giramondo Publishing) is no exception. From her poem tipsy: ‘the pink chemist so / pink nausea pills / overdose
Indigenous wisdom, refugee children, the complexity of kinfolk … it’s all here. Australia’s first farmers Young Dark Emu (Magabala Books) by Bruce Pascoe helps younger readers to see Australia as it was before Europeans arrived – a land of cultivated farming areas, productive fisheries, permanent homes and thriving villages. Also, that our Indigenous people can
Turning lyrics inside out and backward, hope kissing rust, heavy butterflies, and a ditch of a brain … read on to enjoy these and other wonderful turns of phrase I lapped up from the poems I read from January to June 2019. Hiss and spit Rae Armantrout says: ‘you can hold the various elements of
Sydney Writers’ Festival is one of my favourite weeks of the year – a time for musing. This year’s festival in May was no exception. I had a great time! Jamming ABC TV’s Monique Schafter was MC for Spineless Wonders’ Little Fictions – a fabulous live show at Knox Street Bar Chippendale. Actors Eleni Schumacher, Felix Johnson
Women making art and history … here’s a book and some other creations I celebrated in April (on the heels of Sydney’s Art month and Women’s History month in March). Sally Morgan flies Little Bird’s Day by Sally Morgan and illustrated by Yolgnu man Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr was launched in April. It’s the simple but
#WorldPoetryDay 2019 (March 21) invites us to celebrate poetry and encourage people to read, write, and teach it. Here goes … Words to wake us Mary Oliver was one of the world’s most popular and accomplished poets. She was also an ‘indefatigable guide to the natural world,’ wrote Maxine Kumin. Oliver’s poetry won numerous awards, including
Siena Stubbs was just 12 years old when she captured the bird photos that feature in this delightful book – birds she’d seen in and around Yirrkala in North East Arnhem Land all her life. Intrigued by nature, she’d been taking blurry photographs on a borrowed iPad when her aunt gave her a digital SLR.
Aussie women’s words shone brightly in my summer reading. Bird in hand Bird Country (Text) gathers some of my favourite Claire Aman short stories like ‘Jap Floral’, ‘What I Didn’t Put in My Speech’ and ‘Why the Owl Gazes at the Moon’ in one volume. The latter story is unforgettable. Imagine: Beauty, terror, and grief
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