Cirrus@Austlit

'My provocation as guest editor for this new issue of Not Very Quiet, ‘Earth Poems’, focused on the woman who ignited the modern environmental movement, Rachel Carson. Carson alerted the world to the dangers of DDT and pointed out (in the mid-1960s) that ‘we live in an age of rising seas … a startling alteration of climate’. As I noted in the provocation, the springboard for Carson’s superb writing was her keen observation of, connection with, and deep love for the natural world.'  (Tricia Dearborn :Introduction to ‘Earth Poems')

'It is becoming increasingly clear that we all need to contribute to ensure the survival of our planet; new narratives are urgently called for. Ecopoetry has become a genre within which poets put up a searching and at times brutally honest lens through which to consider climate change, loss of biodiversity, the pollution of our air and water, and environmentally damaging industries such as mining and deforestation.

'Poetry for the Planet showcases the work of one hundred poets from Australia and New Zealand. Despite an astonishing variety in style, poems are united in their plea to all of us to forge a new relationship with our fractured world, and move from an attitude of short-term exploitation to one of nourishment and sustainability.'  (Publication summary)