Cirrus@Austlit

'Largely set between a main road and a watercourse in a residential-industrial suburb in Melbourne’s west, Taking Apart the Bird Trap is altogether haunting, unsettling and transcendent. Set in motion by the sudden loss of a father, Anastasi provides us a glimpse into the first and second generation migrant experience, the restlessness of domestic dysfunction, the transformative power of grief, and the defiance of love.'  (Publication summary)

'The wildlife officer moves into the woodland,
steps between the crooked carpet of winged

limbs; the stiff cloaks swathing brown bodies.
He looks out at the row upon row of flying

foxes, lifeless or starved to motionlessness;
each reduced to lay at the level of a human heel.'

'The inheritors are those who will suffer the ravages of climate change be they human, creature or plant.'

'In this interview David Stavanger talks about his alter ego, 'Ghostboy', his live performances and experiences with slam poetry.' (72)