Adelaide Noir explores the city of churches like you’ve never seen it before, reshaping the way South Australians see their state. Alex’s images of factories, playgrounds and shopping centres give voice to his darkly comic vision, seeking beauty in the mundane, and art wherever it may be found.
‘In this book you will find a passionate involvement with the land, images of love and friendship, and anger against injustice. These poems chill and delight.’ – Miriel Lenore
A snapshot of an iconic beach captured in the pandemic’s peak in Adelaide, Christine captures in writing the nature of the beach: completely unfazed by the worries of humans, always changing, always the same.
‘In this tale arcing from 1845 to the present, in poetry underpinned by meticulous research, we inhabit settler society with all its attendant joys, hardship and grief as we careen with Caroline through her journey of love, loss and horror into madness.’
– Biff Ward, author of In My Mother’s Hands.
Undercut with longing and unbelonging, absurdity and tragedy, thwarted plans and fortuitous serendipity, each story offers glimpses into the dreams, limitations, gains and losses of fragmented families, loners and lovers, survivors and misfits, as they piece together a place for themselves in the imperfect mosaic of the natural and unnatural world.
Read on for the short story ‘Red Sea’, an extract from Dreams They Forgot.
In their interviews with Ashley Mallett, many of these men recall Father Smith’s kindness and care. His successors, however, were often brutal, and the boys faced prejudice in a wider world largely built to exclude Indigenous Australians. The Boys from St Francis is a multi-layered tale of triumph against the odds – using the early building blocks of education and sporting prowess. Many of them went on to become fiercely effective advocates for Aboriginal causes, achieving significant progress not just for themselves, but for Aboriginal people, changing their world for the better.
In this edited extract, Harold Thomas, designer of the iconic Aboriginal flag, speaks about his time as a boy of St Francis House, and his career as an artist.
Our spotlight shines once again on Ali Whitelock, this time featuring a poem from her first collection published by Wakefield Press, and my heart crumples like a coke can.
‘Ali Whitelock writes a poetry of excoriating tenderness. Whitelock is Bukowski with a Glaswegian accent and a nicer wardrobe.’
– Mark Tredinnick, poet and author of The Blue Plateau, The Little Red Writing Book, Blue Wren Cantos, The Lyre Bird & Other Poems
Indigo Owl is smart, thoughtful YA fiction for modern teens. Equal parts thrilling entertainment and thought-provoking social commentary, Indigo Owl discusses the ‘what ifs’ around the future of the human race.