Scan barcode
henrymarlene's review
4.0
"Liberating words where we have half the times don’t need words”.
Fire Front is a poetry and essay anthology presented by Gomeroi woman Alison Whittaker, bringing together the treasured words of many Aboriginal and First Nations poets and writers. There is so much more power and wisdom that the English words used in the poetry and essays give credit to. You can feel the hearts of a thousand years beating to the rhythm of each piece of poetry and prose. You can feel the pain, and we need to, in order to heal, and acknowledge the past, the present and the future.
“Our words … speak to the kind of always that isn’t threatened by words spinning on around it”.
This was my Australia Day reading this year: to reflect, to learn, to understand, to acknowledge, to pay my respects.
#alwayswasalwayswillbe
Fire Front is a poetry and essay anthology presented by Gomeroi woman Alison Whittaker, bringing together the treasured words of many Aboriginal and First Nations poets and writers. There is so much more power and wisdom that the English words used in the poetry and essays give credit to. You can feel the hearts of a thousand years beating to the rhythm of each piece of poetry and prose. You can feel the pain, and we need to, in order to heal, and acknowledge the past, the present and the future.
“Our words … speak to the kind of always that isn’t threatened by words spinning on around it”.
This was my Australia Day reading this year: to reflect, to learn, to understand, to acknowledge, to pay my respects.
#alwayswasalwayswillbe
velociranga's review
5.0
Showcases the power of words, and the strength of First Nations poets. It was a diverse range of poems from many poets, songwriters, and speakers. The essays introducing each section also drew the thematic grouping together and gave context, which I really appreciated.
There are some poems I loved more and will return to a lot, but I took something away from all of them. It was a powerful reading experience.
There are some poems I loved more and will return to a lot, but I took something away from all of them. It was a powerful reading experience.
ezreading's review
5.0
“Aboriginal poetics have always been caught within the gaze of too little, too much”
“As Fogarty reminds us, Aboriginal poetry is here: Liberating words where we have half the times don’t need words”
“These poems push, comforted in the knowledge that our words are more important than the grammars that restrain them”
“Aboriginal poetics always have, and always will be here - extending the land and waters into air. Our poetries will grow as we grow, as we remember and return. Our words bear with them more than scholars like myself know what to do with them. They speak to the kind of always that isn’t threatened by worlds spinning on around it.” - Too Little, Too Much (intro by Evelyn Araluen)
“As Fogarty reminds us, Aboriginal poetry is here: Liberating words where we have half the times don’t need words”
“These poems push, comforted in the knowledge that our words are more important than the grammars that restrain them”
“Aboriginal poetics always have, and always will be here - extending the land and waters into air. Our poetries will grow as we grow, as we remember and return. Our words bear with them more than scholars like myself know what to do with them. They speak to the kind of always that isn’t threatened by worlds spinning on around it.” - Too Little, Too Much (intro by Evelyn Araluen)
jaclyn_sixminutesforme's review
5.0
This was a brilliant read, such a thoughtfully edited collection of poetry by writers I have read widely from, and others that are new to me and I'm excited to read more from. I usually read stand-alone poetry collections by one author, so loved this anthology format and felt it allowed for a really robust and varied reading experience. What I also found really helpful (and why I'd particularly recommend this anthology to those new to reading poetry) were the essays of commentary for each themed section of the book. Having these essays be both a broader thematic discussion as well as a deeper-dive into the works from leading Indigenous writers and thinkers really added to the experience of reading this anthology. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to UQP for providing an ebook for review.
Many thanks to UQP for providing an ebook for review.
thisgirl_writes's review
5.0
An extraordinary collection. As a non First Nations person, I don't feel it's my place to say any more. I recommend everyone in so-called Australia read this!
bloodscout's review
5.0
An incredible collection of poems from a wide range of amazing Aboriginal writers. Read the entire thing with a highlighter to hand, picking out gut-punch lines and making copious notes in the margins.
mayakittenreads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0