Ilka Tampke Ilka Tampke i(A137882 works by)
Gender: Female
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Works By

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1 Written with the Forest Ilka Tampke , 2024 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue , no. 71 2024; 'In June 2021, as research for a novel about humans and forests, I undertook a commitment to walk in the forests of Gebhurr (Mount Macedon) every day for one year, and to document the thoughts arising from each day’s encounter as an in-situ drafting exercise; in essence, to attempt to write the forest–or my experience of it. Out of this structured entanglement with the poetic possibilities of place, a novel arose. Poststructuralists have long queried the idea of the author as a text’s single originating point, just as ecologists and environmental philosophers have questioned the unique status of human subjectivity in relation to wider notions of ecological thoughtfulness. In this article, I will briefly consider what is meant by the term ‘forest’ and its history as a metaphoric terrain, before describing my own year-long in situ forest writing project. In interpreting this, I draw on existing frameworks that explore the blurred boundaries between environment and human thinking, including Freya Matthew’s ontopoetics, Vicki Kirby’s grammared biologies, and Australian Indigenous notions of narratively-patterned environments, as well as thinkers of European forests such as Bachelard and Heidegger. I draw widely from the existing research into the relationship between forests and human creativity, in order to argue that the forest may hold a legitimate claim to authorial acknowledgement of works developed within its realm.' (Publication abstract)
1 Writing Is Tough. My Book Went so Unnoticed I Won an Award for It Ilka Tampke , 2019 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 25 November 2019;
3 2 y separately published work icon Songwoman Ilka Tampke , London : Hodder and Stoughton , 2018 12801286 2018 single work novel historical fiction fantasy

'Since the slaughter of her people, Ailia has been living, alone, in the forest. It is a time of deep healing and communing with the earth and its spirits - the Mothers. But now, Ailia has regained enough strength to return to the tribes, and rejoin the war.

'She goes to Llanmelin, a major tribal centre in southeast Wales, where the British war king, Caradog has been leading a bitter guerrilla campaign against the encroaching Roman army.

'Ailia and Caradog begin a passionate relationship - but as the Roman general Scapula becomes ever more determined to claim the rich roils of Wales, pressure mounts for a final battle that will determine the future of Britain.

'As the battle approaches, Ailia must use her powers to protect, forever, what is most sacred amongst her people. The future of Britain will depend upon her success.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
6 3 y separately published work icon Skin Ilka Tampke , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2015 8139069 2015 single work novel fantasy historical fiction

'Southwest Britain, AD 43.

'For the people of Caer Cad, ‘skin’ is their belief, their greeting, their ancestors, their land.

'Ailia does not have skin. Abandoned at birth, she serves the Tribequeen of her township. Ailia is forbidden to marry, left out of tribal ceremonies and, most devastatingly, barred from attending lessons. But an encounter with a mysterious fish sets her on another path. The Mothers, the tribal ancestors, have chosen her to become their highest knowledge-bearer—the Kendra.

'Lured by the beautiful and enigmatic Taliesin, who appears to her as both man and fish, Ailia embarks on an unsanctioned journey to attain the knowledge that will protect her people from the most terrifying invaders they have ever faced.

'Set in Iron-Age Britain, on the cusp of Roman invasion, Skin is a thrilling, full-blooded, mesmerizing novel about the collision of two worlds, and a young woman torn between two men.' (Publication summary)
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