Cirrus@Austlit

'I was asked recently who I thought was the greatest nature writer in Tasmania. I scratched my head and thought: who is it that emerges above the rest as someone who best understands and articulates the haunting beauty and mystery of this ancient island’s environment? Who understands deeply the captivating endemics of this island and has been able to write best about it?' (Introduction)          

'Don Defenderfer ‘s companion book to TASMANIA an island dream is a collection of stories, poems and photographs that capture the magic and beauty of Tasmania. '  (Publication summary)

'I hadn’t been back to Maria Island for years. The kids have grown up and wander Nepal and Cambodia and Melbourne pubs instead of wandering and wondering on Maria Island’s beaches in search of penguins, nautilus shells and cuttlefish. Nothing in life stays the same for very long; time moves on whether you want it to or not. Time and memories sift away like sand falling through an hourglass, with one side filling up and the other emptying.'  (Introduction)

'Did you know that some butterflies migrate up to 4000 kilometres? This is amazing for a creature that seems to flitter, flutter and flap erratically without apparent direction. A group of skippers a type of butterfly can fly more than 50 kilometres per hour.'  (Introduction)

'Not long ago I was on the island of Kauai when I spotted a street library in rustic Hanalei, and I was fascinated by this free exchange of books on the main street. An old wooden pantry was full of island reading books that one can find the world over – spy novels, mysteries, fantasy, history, romance and travel books – and so I slipped my poetry book among The Destroyer Killer (Edwin Hoyt), Murder in the House (Margaret Truman) and Husbands, Lover, Stranger (Suzanne Forster). A little poetry would not go astray, I reasoned, and would give the reader a choice for an island afternoon of escape reading.'  (Introduction)