Cirrus@Austlit

'A remarkable and impressive debut collection of poems that speak to the complexity of family, identity and the proud legacy of Māori language and culture.'

'A powerful debut fiction that reveals unsettling answers to 'Why are good kids misbehaving?'.'

'to open up / to respond as genuinely as possible / to offer hope / we want things to change / weaving solidarity from place and history / into collective purpose (Ellen Van Neerven and Layli Long Soldier)

'Following from the much-loved Guwayu anthology, this second collaboration between Red Room Poetry and Magabala Books invites some of the world’s leading First Nations poets together in poetic conversation. This collection weaves words across lands and seas, gathering collaborative threads and shining a light on First Nations poetry from Australia and across the globe.

''By anchoring the project in relationality, Woven’s foundation is about how we connect with each other and what we are prepared, as First Nation artists, to offer and receive. The emphasis was about (re)generating poetic First Nations bonds ― solidarity, consensus, family, land, oceans, the moon, remembering, dreaming, sharing, opening, mourning, respect, celebrating, finding, losing, healing and more healing.' ― Anne-Marie Te Whiu' (Publication summary)

'A bag of salt was a beginning. Tribal tattooed hands from another time, yet present beside me, reached in to a handbag and placed a small, well-travelled satchel on the table. We all stared at it. Her voice, an instrument of belonging, invited us to pinch some.' (Introduction)

'Over the past decade, Spoken Word has established itself as a central part of contemporary Australian & New Zealand poetry. For the first-time ever, these voices are transported from the stage to the page, captured in print so that the spoken-word experience can be shared with a new and broader audience.

'Solid Air showcases the work of more than 100 performance poets - combining elements of slam, hip-hop and experimental performance poetry - to deliver an unforgettable reading experience that is both literary and loud. Poems capture themes of modern culture, identity and resistance.

'Contributors include Ali Cobby Eckermann, Hera Lindsay Bird, Claire G. Taika Waititi, Courtney Barnett, Michelle Law, Hannah Gadsby, Luka Lesson and many, many more.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.