Showing titles in Australia, New Zealand & Oceania

Cockatoos in the Mangroves is confessional, and at the same time, an artfully expressive debut collection of poetry that will leave a fiery footprint on your spirit.

Although the history of Australian verse dates back to early colonial times, one of the first genuinely antipodean poetic voices was that of Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833-1870). During his short and tragic life, Gordon published two volumes of verse, the second of which was Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes, which appeared in the year of his death.

Part expression, part confession, part question, it is an intimate look at the impact of mental illness, trauma, and neglect. A critical dissection of the interconnected roles that family, religion, society, education, and government play, as well as their impacts upon an individual. A commentary on current affairs, historical trends, and the bleak potential of our collective future, Can’t Quite Express is also both an example of, and an encouragement for, writing therapy.

For the last nine centuries, Hawaiian tradition has used the wickedness of the Maui king Hua to depict the consequences of sacrificing righteousness for superficial political gains. His reign was known for its pointless warfare, waste of resources, and corruption. Condemning his dutiful high priest to death under false pretenses, Hua and his subjects finally earn the wrath of the gods. Drought and famine decimate Maui. The lush countryside of Hana becomes a wasteland. As they flee, the curse follows. Atonement resides with the sons of the murdered priest. If they can be found.

King David Kalākaua introduces us to the people upon whom the legend of the Pele family is based. They departed Samoa as war refugees in the 12th century, settling in the foothills of Mauna Loa. As earthquakes and eruptions occurred during their interactions with the Hawaiians, this family of kahuna were accorded what the king described as “unique sanctity and power”. Pele was as mighty as she was beautiful. The tales of the volcano goddess earned the attention of Kamapuaa, the outcast son of the chief of Oahu who terrorized the island with his band of renegades.

The fifth and final volume of poetry by the author of Wild Cat Falling was originally published in India in 2013. There are 45 poems from the Master of the Ghost Dreaming, as he reels and sways through his long held interest in Buddhism and the Blues. While still writing about rejuvenation and the great cycles of Life, there is a strong awareness of finality, of passing on, of Death. Always lyrical, this is a wonderful offering from the award-winning poet.

If you intend on a new start, avoiding the fractal vise of old entanglements, Escaping the Timeline is a restorative collection of poetry exploring the path between doing no harm and taking no crap.

Spanning several centuries of history in the Pacific, The Legends and Myths of Hawaiʻi: Fables and Folk-Lore of a Strange People is a collection of Hawaiian stories that were preserved through the ages by oral tradition and documented for posterity by King David Kalākaua in 1887. This massive tome recalls the tales of chiefs and kings, explorers and pirates, prophets, sorceresses, and renegades. This is the first in a series of 22 parts.

Widowed and at a crossroads in her life, Sandra Porter knows she must find the courage to find her true self. Deciding it's time to push her boundaries, she makes a booking to trek the Larapinta Walk across the centre of the remote Northern Territory. Renowned nature photographer Graysen Hughes has come to the outback seeking solace after the death of his wife. Always a loner, Graysen isn't happy when the tour guide insists on the participants walking in pairs. After a suspicious accident and the sudden disappearance of their guide, the group struggles on.

Romance and adventure collide in Australia's exotic outback as a deadly storm and a deadly killer wreak havoc on the occupants of of an isolated toxicology lab cut off from immediate respite or rescue.

Blueprint for New Beginnings puts life on the couch. Through the eyes and ears of this author, the listener will discover an individuation journey, and the extraordinarily rich intersection between collective mythology, nature, and ordinary everyday life.

Unlike the other verse novels of C. J. Dennis, this collection of 13 poems is focused on political satire. The action is set in the society of an arboreal race, known as Glugs, and described by the author "stupid race of docile folk". Among the targets of Dennis's mocking scrutiny are free trade, social conformity, and extravagant bureaucracy.

The poetry collection called Firefly Zodiac has a focus on the big picture, our planet Earth, our galaxy, and constellations beyond. Fiona telescopes space and time into our view, giving a fresh perspective on everyday events. Surprise is an element of her poetry, as well as refreshment of the senses. Fiona is passionate about human relationships and the natural world. She transcends the boundaries between the seen and unseen, tangible and intangible. The listener becomes a space traveler. The poems hover between the terrestrial and the celestial.

Australia's novels lie at the heart of the country. Books that Made Us looks at the history of Australian culture through the books we have read and the stories we have told. Capturing everyday lives and exceptional dreams, Australian novels have held up a mirror to the nation, reflecting the good and the bad.

Congo, 1964. Australienne de vingt-cinq ans, Anna Emerson retourne sur sa terre natale du Congo, pour se rendre au chevet de son père mourant, Karl, qu'elle n'a pas vu depuis dix-huit ans. Les retrouvailles sont brèves et, au lendemain de sa mort, un nouveau choc attend la jeune femme : Karl n'est pas son père biologique.

In his short life, Australian poet Barcoft Boake completed 30 poems, the most famous of which is the pastoral lament, "Where the Dead Men Lie", which was first published in the The Bulletin in December, 1891. This collection was prepared and edited by critic and anthologist, A. G. Stephens, who also appended a detailed memoir of the poet.

Flloyd Kennedy's first collection of poems, songs, and stories have been gathered together in much the same way as she has lived her life - moving from place to place when the need arises, stopping to take note of the chaos and the kindness she encounters, and sharing her ideas with a dry Aussie sense of the ridiculous. She writes about her personal experience of life, not as memoir but as a means of making some kind of sense of life in general.

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to Azaria Poems.

From teenage memories of staying with a cross-dressing cousin in Sydney, to estranged siblings scattering the ashes of a family member, not to mention perplexing encounters in Jordan, these eight stories reflect on family, friendship, desire, and belonging in a queer world. Ashley Sievwright is the author of the novels The Shallow End (Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize Best First Novel) and Walter.

Une comédie romantique, cosmique et drôle. Les fans de "Love Actually" vont être ravis ! Comme tous les Verseau, Nick croit à sa bonne étoile : un jour, il deviendra un comédien célèbre. Il lui suffit, pour cela, de suivre à la lettre les recommandations de son horoscope. Ce qu'il ignore, en revanche, c'est que Justine, son amour d'enfance depuis longtemps perdue de vue, œuvre comme stagiaire au journal L'Étoile.