City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

Fire flood plague, Australian writers respond to 2020, edited by Sophie Cunningham

eng

Includes bibliographical references

no index present

essays

Fire flood plague

bibliography

edited by Sophie Cunningham

Australian writers respond to 2020

2020 began with firestorms raging through the country, followed by floods, and then a global pandemic that has changed how Australians think, feel and live. We all experienced this year differently, but one thing rings true for all of us: this is a year we won't forget. This anthology brings together original work from a diverse collection of Australian voices, from writers to scientists, journalists to historians, all expressing what 2020 meant to them. They write of ash falling from the sky, fish dying on riverbanks, loved ones lost, loved ones reunited, the historical resonance of fire and plague for Indigenous Australians, geopolitical tensions, the changed nature of travel, friendships rekindled on Zoom, the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, the state of the arts and the media, the importance of nurturing our inner lives, communities destroyed and communities rebuilding. Fire Flood Plague is a vital cultural record of the resilience and humanity needed in these extraordinary times. Including original pieces from Lenore Taylor, Nyadol Nuon, Christos Tsiolkas, Melissa Lucashenko, Billy Griffiths, Jess Hill, Kim Scott, Brenda Walker, Jane Rawson, Omar Sakr, Richard McGregor, Jennifer Mills, Gabrielle Chan, John Birmingham, Tim Flannery, Rebecca Giggs, Kate Cole-Adams, George Megalogenis, James Bradley, Alison Croggon, Melanie Cheng, Kirsten Tranter, Tom Griffiths, Joelle Gergis and Delia Falconer

Timeline--Introduction -- This place of sickness / Billy Griffiths -- The year of lethal wonders / John Birmingham -- Black flowers / Kirsten Tranter -- Living in time of coronavirus / Delia Falconer -- Flames / Alison Croggon -- The great unravelling / Joëlle Gergis -- Drawing breath / Tom Griffiths -- Dead water / Sophie Cunningham -- A matter of urgency / Tim Flannery -- Don't blink / Jane Rawson -- Our daily bread / Gabrielle Chan -- Falling / James Bradley -- Call and response / Christos Tsiolkas -- Friday the thirteenth / Melanie Cheng -- The music of the virus / Brenda Walker -- Waiting for a friend / Kate Cole-Adams -- Too deadly / Melissa Lucashenko -- Trouble breathing / Jennifer Mills -- A long shadow / George Megalogenis -- The ghost in the machine / Jess Hill -- One voice / Kim Scott -- About the birds this spring / Rebecca Giggs -- The coming storm / Richard McGregor -- A convincing darkness / Omar Sakr -- A reinstatement of the facts / Lenore Taylor -- The plague and the cultivation of an inner life / Nyadol Nyuon -- Notes