Cirrus@Austlit

'When a nascent pathogen wreaks ecological havoc on the planet’s arable soil, the world’s food security is plunged into chaos. Working alone on her family’s old farm, a gifted biologist, sifts through thousands of seeds – and the memories of her family – in search of something that might grow.'

Source: Production blurb.

'Published in a collection, Peter Beaglehole’s Strata and Piri Eddy’s Forgiveness are both muscular and challenging, and provide entertaining perspectives on contemporary Australia and examine relationships between people and the land we live on.' (Publication summary)

'When an earth-destroying meteor appears in the sky, 15-year-old amateur biologist Elle is terrified that the world is about to end. But when she confronts her parents, they refuse to acknowledge her fears. Instead, they send Elle to see Dr Humboldt, a crackpot specialist who convinces them that Elle is, in fact, a critically endangered Sumatran elephant. Will her parents see reason, or will Elle spend her last days on Earth in a cage? An absurd coming-of-age tale, The Last Elephant on Earth explores growing-up, denial, and the lies we tell ourselves in order to avoid the truth.'

Source: Production blurb (Tallstoreez).

'Capturing the heart of a global anxiety, _this breath is not mine to keep: Cycles (6’32, 2020), is built around ten imagined stages of grief, with surreal visual representations of each. Apocalyptic vignettes reflect on the mundane horrors of living on the other side of catastrophe, and an inability to contextualise life-shattering change. In a concrete tomb on a decimated planet powdered milk and toilet paper are more central to our existence than trees and running water.'

Source: Tall Storeez (https://tallstoreez.com/project/cycles). (Sighted: 19/5/2021)

'As we were proofreading this introduction, the new(ish) Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, responded to the warnings of a special report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by defending the Australian coal industry (Hannam & Latimer 2018). In reference to the Green Climate Fund, set up by the nations that make up the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in support of developing nations responding to climate change, Morrison added, ‘Nor are we bound to go and tip money into that big climate fund. We’re not going to do that either. I’m not going to spend money on global climate conferences and all that nonsense’ (Karp 2018).' (Introduction)