'Fulfilling a lifelong dream and buying a rural property, the writer is surprised to discover the farm becomes a rich source of poetic inspiration. This collection is the outcome of over three decades of reflection and writing about the joys and sorrows of a small farmer. With boyhood memories of Australian wheat-belt farms and ideas from Wendell Berry’s agrarian writing, the author sets out to discover his own reality of farming on this hillside property. ‘Get big or get out’ is perhaps the counter mantra of this collection, as the struggle to find sufficiency in being small and unprofitable defines the lived experience of farming. Deeper considerations emerge, as a growing awareness of the destructive nature of Australian agriculture tempers any romantic notions of ‘life on the land’. In the end, it is the agrarian spirit, the sense of a true community of nature, which activates and sustains this collection.' (Publication summary)
