'between wind and water, is to be in a vulnerable place, the place where people and planet are. When industrial wind arrives in the neighbourhood, some locals find that living with their new neighbour has brought a whirlwind of troubles. Their health and that of the community take a nosedive. Their complaints are filed into obscurity, their stories dismissed and they belittled. What sort of world do we want? We ask how can we have a better world if people and planet are not equally respected?
'These poems speak the stories of people who have been denied a voice. A local story told with a global perspective … these are small fragments of a very complex story, an attempt to distil the experiences of some people in small rural locations across the world.
'At the heart of between wind and water is an intimate portrayal of the vulnerable place people and planet find themselves. When home no longer feels safe as houses, when health has so deteriorated, and the local community divided and toxic, people leave their homes and the lives they have known.
'between wind and water, a series of poems, tells the stories of people who, after a windfarm is built in their neighbourhood, find that they begin to experience problems: among others sleep disruption, headaches, nausea, anxiety. They complain to the Company, local council, and government. Lost in the labyrinth of doublespeak and duplicity, anxiety, disillusionment and a sense of abandonment grow. These poems tell of their experience and try to make sense of what is happening.
'The broader ideological framework that these stories are set in: the earth is being plundered; consumerism is rife; bias and zealotry on all sides are rampant. Who do you believe? Where do we go from here, when respect for people and the planet is at such a low ebb?'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
'In ‘speaking out’, the final poem of berni m janssen’s fifth collection, between wind and water (in a vulnerable place), a choral cry for resistance is offered, a lyric that insists on the ability of individuals to provoke immense change: ‘one voice small forms fight in strength / one voice strong gains another / i’m with you, go boldly’. In a context of climate strikes and impassioned environmental activism, such lines might be attributed to Greta Thunberg, whose reminder that ‘you are never too small to make a difference’ has become the slogan of protestors worldwide demanding action against an impending ecological crisis.' (Introduction)
'In ‘speaking out’, the final poem of berni m janssen’s fifth collection, between wind and water (in a vulnerable place), a choral cry for resistance is offered, a lyric that insists on the ability of individuals to provoke immense change: ‘one voice small forms fight in strength / one voice strong gains another / i’m with you, go boldly’. In a context of climate strikes and impassioned environmental activism, such lines might be attributed to Greta Thunberg, whose reminder that ‘you are never too small to make a difference’ has become the slogan of protestors worldwide demanding action against an impending ecological crisis.' (Introduction)
