Wolves, ghosts and a great flood: scary things in books
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What themes are explored in Charlotte McConaghy's Once There Were Wolves?
This is an ABC podcast
Wolves are howling, floods are rising, and you're going to meet a character as insubstantial as air, but who can inhabit all your empty spaces and move through the world with you. Hi, I'm Kate Evans, and this is The Bookshelf, on air on Radio National, on the ABC Listen app, and it's your weekly podcast of new fiction and reading recommendations wherever you happen to be. Cassie McCullough is away this week, reading a good book, no doubt, but journalist and playwright Melanie Tate will be along soon, as will a collection of writers with their reading recommendations to hand. But have you heard about the poets? They're all over the place at the moment because it's National Poetry Month and Red Room Poetry has worked with us here at Radio National to present new poetry specially written for you.
How you doing everyone, my name is Luke Curry Richardson, also known as Balaluke on the socials and I am coming to you from Gadigal land of the Eora Nation and I'd like to pay my respects to the elders past, present and my peers who will be our future elders and leaders. I'm a very proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander man, storyteller. My father's side, I'm a Kukialanji, Jabakai man, also a Miriam man from the Torres Straits. My mother's side, I'm a Mananjali and Batchelor fella. I'd like to give a big shout out to Red Room Poetry for allowing me to tell my stories and express my poetry on their platform. So appreciate y'all and I hope you enjoy. The title of my poem is called Black Love.
B-L-A-K-L-O-V-E. Enjoy. I want that type of black love, like the first steps on your traditional country, and the first breaths of the traditional air. You just know you belong. Words can't explain that level of comfort, but you know you're being looked after, and you can be yourself on these lands. I want that type of black love, like you bring the damper out the coals and you know it's just right. I want that type of black love to take over me, like a smoking ceremony, cleansing me and healing me. Lead the way all around me, in my face so it can ground me. Sometimes it gets in your eyes and tears fall but it's never for long. It's always healing, the smell of safety and healing, the feeling of welcoming.
I want that type of black love like I need to ask you who's your mob and you ask mine and I run to mum and dad just to double check if it's fine which it is then I lay down my next black fella line on you we ain't mob I want that type of black love where black mob refer to us as black royalty but we're just out here being carefree black beauties doing our duties for the future of our black communities I want that type of black love when I walk into a place with the brother boys and you're with the sister girls who know exactly what's going on and they'd be like, while unapologetically nudging you, trying to make you shame for everyone to see. I want that type of black love that helps heal our traumas.
Navigating this world, surviving the city life, or trying to reclaim, connect to the traditional one, those black peoples. I want that type of black love that goes into each other to go into our people. I want to walk hand in hand at protest as a wall of black strength, beauty and power so we can both burn down these systems together. I want that type of black love where we plant the seed among the hate and gunpowder and out sprouts this black flower, sharing this country and more black pride and power.
How does Jennifer Mills' The Airways address contemporary issues?
I want that type of black love where I can go out and be this modern day warrior, then come home and surrender to my blackness where only you and I exist, finding peace in a melanated moment. I want that type of black love that sets an example for our Jarjums and shows them that this type of black love exists.
Luke Currie Richardson, also known as Bella Luke, with his poem Black Love. He's part of Poetry Month's 30 in 30 program, with a new poem released every day in August, brought to you by Red Room Poetry. More details at abc.net.au slash rn.
Before we meet today's guests, I want to tell you about some books I've been reading.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What themes are explored in Charlotte McConaghy's Once There Were Wolves?
0:02–4:22
2
How does Jennifer Mills' The Airways address contemporary issues?
4:22–7:38
3
What is the significance of climate change in Jessie Greengrass's The High House?
7:38–10:21
4
How does the podcast highlight the importance of poetry this month?
10:21–13:03
5
What unique storytelling techniques does Jennifer Mills use?
13:03–16:07
6
How do the characters in The Airways navigate their realities?
16:07–18:17
7
What moral dilemmas are presented in The High House?
18:17–20:36
8
What book recommendations are provided at the end of the episode?
20:36–54:05
Speakers
6 identifiedMore from The Bookshelf
Ambition, Rage, Gothic Hunger: New Novels from Min Jin Lee, Louise Kennedy and Catherine Chidgey
Emily St. John Mandel and John Boyne alongside a Booker-longlisted debut
New Fiction: Donal Ryan, Emma Cline, Max Easton and Sebastian Barry
New Fiction from Melissa Harrison and Malcolm Knox + Mandy Sayer's Top 3
Top 100 Australian Books from Byron Writers Festival
Anjet Daanje's extraordinary The Stork and the Dromedary + Liane Moriarty returns with Big Little Truths