Reviews

Fire Front: First Nations Poetry and Power Today by Alison Whittaker

archytas's review

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5.0

Lately I've started reading poetry again in the form of collections by a single poet, usually a collection which works as a volume, echoing through. Fire Front is a great reminder of how wonderful compendiums can be - collections of just truly great poems. There are lots of familiar great poets here, as well as new and emerging ones. The organisation does the poets proud, the themes are tied together with intent, and the five essayists explore the poems in their section. The sublime Alison Whittaker explores all aspects of the fire theme in the introduction and explains the importance of the volume far better than I could.
The poems I hadn't read before that really stood out for me included Luke Patterson's Darkingjung Burning, Paul Collis' Cult-charr Jammer and the impossible-not-to-read-aloud-again-and-again Millad Mob Da Best by Diwurruwurru. Ellen Van Neervan's Expert made me laugh out loud. And if Dylan Voller's Justice didn't make you cry with fury, I'm not sure I know you.

georgiarybanks's review

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

aquabeb's review

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5.0

<3
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