sifting fire writing coast (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780645797701)

The collection: Forty verse and prose poems are divided into themes 'fire', 'sifting' and 'coast'.

fire - the equal largest section with 15 poems primarily reflects my lived experience of the 'Black Summer' 2019-20 bushfires. My village of Lake Conjola was devastated when the Currowan Fire broke containment lines on New Year's Eve to destroy over 110 homes, with the loss of three lives. My devastated village became international news. Climate change destruction is a strong motif of poems in 'fire', as is living through the aftermath of a catastrophic bushfire disaster.

sifting - these 10 poems cover a longer time span and are, in essence, reflections of a white, working class female growing up in southeast inland Australia and engaging with other places in the world. Some of the sub themes here contemplate

inequality, war, travel, love and death.

coast - here 15 poems reflect life on the fringe of southern Australia's coast. Included are longer prose poem narratives of moving between the east and west coasts. A sense of immersion exists in this group of poems, not just in the ocean, but in coastal environments across disparate Australian regions. Environmental and social concerns are engaged with in coast as well.