Books published by Ginninderra Press

1983, and the hot issue of the environment has helped sweep the Hawke government into office. Evelyn Carter, a young idealistic zoologist, travels to Tasmania as part of a project to keep that heat turned up. Deep in the wilderness, alone, she is confronted by an extraordinary event that will challenge both herself and her deep love of the natural world.

Libby Sommer's sensitively drawn characters live and breathe within the echoes of the everyday. Stories from Bondi centre on women - their joys, doubts, loves and realisations. The foibles of human nature, with all their pathos and humour, are laid bare for the reader.'From the opening story "Art and the Mermaid" to a moving piece set in a health retreat that closes the collection, these stories beautifully capture the intimacies of women. Like My Year With Sammy and The Crystal Ballroom, this is classic Sommer.' - Susanne Gervay OAM, author'…wonderful voice and poetic language…' - Dr Anne Jamison, Writing and Society, Western Sydney University'The strength of Libby Sommer's work is its engagement with the contemporary mores and sexual manners of urban Australian life.' - Amanda Lohrey, Patrick White award winner

Australia's wool growing industry descended into chaos during the early 1980s when a small group of 'rebel' shearers started advocating for a seemingly minor change. The rebels, led by gun shearer Robert White, wanted 13-tooth shearing combs legalised. Wide combs, as they were known, had been banned from use in Australia for more than 50 years. But White and his supporters argued they were more efficient and productive than the standard gauge 10-tooth shearing combs and wanted the ban overturned. Standing in the way was the powerful Australian Workers' Union. The ensuing David and Goliath like clash produced four years of industrial turmoil, bitterness, intimidation and some outlandish violence, as the AWU went all out to try to stop the introduction of wide combs. This is the first detailed account of an industrial dispute that revolutionised Australia's iconic shearing industry and led to the total demise of the AWU in the industry after it stubbornly refused to embrace technological change.'Three Steel Teeth has been meticulously researched and provides a fascinating portrait of the economic landscape of the time and a salutary set of insights for those tasked with guiding Australia's future prosperity. I congratulate Mark on this readable and timely addition to our understanding of an important chapter in Australian history.' - Professor Phil Dolan, La Trobe University

Until a Shrimp Learns to Whistle is a compellingly mordant yet profound and moving meditation on the ephemeral quality of our existence. In these lapidary narratives there is a dark overall cast to the work, the writer being influenced by the dystopic early J.G. Ballard in the bleak pessimism and claustrophobic surreal nature of the writing. There is nothing that is anodyne or palliative in Tim Collins's work, only the voice of a writer who speaks the truth and bids us accept the condition without flinching.

Living alone in the Blue Mountains, baby-boomer Kate Ward is estranged from her adult son. Where did it all go wrong?She decides to return to Salt Pan Creek, the place of her childhood in post-war Sydney suburbia. It's here that she must come to terms with a history that's far greater than her own personal past.While All the Lives We've Lived takes us back to relive the fifties, sixties and seventies, it's Kate's willingness to confront the truth of her teenage relationship with Gary, an indigenous boy, that reflects Australia's need to face its collective colonial past.Blending fictional and historical characters and events, this deeply moving novel of interconnected stories is ultimately about storytelling itself: about our need to tell them; about the ones we remember; the ones we value; and the ones we distort because the truth may be too hard to bear.'This is an exceptional novel - a work of the imagination edged with compelling reality. The lives go on in the rhythms of the prose and vibrate in the memory. The story is a brave one, and this is a book I will come back to again.' - Robert Adamson, poet, publisher and inaugural CAL Chair of Poetry at University of Technology, Sydney'Each story is a jewel set perfectly into the whole where the interior worlds of the characters are rendered in engaging and powerful detail.' - Jo Gardiner, author of The Concerto Inn

John Blackhawk lived in India and England before migrating to Australia. Previously he worked as a teacher in Sydney. These days, home is Umina Beach on the New South Wales Central Coast. He currently works as a canine behavioural therapist. Dogs have become a major part of his life. They pervade his poetry, as does the beautiful coastal scenery where he lives. This is his second book of poetry, the first being Against the Currents (Ginninderra Press, 2010).'In dogs barking in the distance, John Blackhawk records his experience of an imperfect world, a world made bearable by the beauty of nature, music, and his companions. He gifts his readers with a considered view of places and people, both unique and universal. With a keen eye for detail, he traces both his geographical and his mind's wanderings across an international and political landscape, just reconnoitring for the day when it won't have to return. His wry turn of phrase, at its most sardonic when he speaks of himself, slices through the sheer overwhelming scope of life, articulating the bewilderedness we all have some sense of, and we too are undone walking through this existential imagery.' - Kelly Blaney-Murphy'John's poems have tremendous scope, ranging from microscopic observations of life to grand reflections on evolution. These are gritty poems of a life lived in everyday moments which reveal their true meaning under the poet's forensic eye. In this collection words weave stories with craft to draw the reader into a multilayered world equally fascinated by the unusual and the mundane. From warm, funny, bittersweet stories of childhood to the realities of everyman who has experienced displacement, desolation and loss, John's voice is sure and deft.'- Liz Macnamara'John Blackhawk's multilayered work is at once accessible to the casual reader and sophisticated and complete enough to intrigue and entice those seeking deeper contemplation of word and phrase. He is worthy of reading and rereading.'- Peter Stuckey'John will immerse you in his world, and then you'll be surprised by your journey.' - Julia Telling'Verse with the power of the jet stream, delivered from an ocean of tales of pithy erudition.' - Bob Douglas

'Tilting at Time offers a vivacious yet emphatic rendering of the minutiae of Australian life. At once humorous and reflective, Greg muses on the human condition and its relationship to the specific places and temporal spaces we find ourselves in. In the very first poem, our poet expresses his wish for "words that…shine light into hidden crevices, expose fires". It is in his own collection that we find exactly that.' - Lucy Petchell'In this collection, Greg Tome's eyes are everywhere, playfully or ruminatively considering much that is revealed to the observant poet. His poems survey the grace of human attachment, the remarkable beauty of the everyday world as well as its unexpected terrors, drawing the reader's attention to the richly imaginative prospect that this poet variously shares. Tome's dexterous management of the language in these poems stylistically suggests the pace of an inner life that embraces and rejoices in the range of sensitivity that is life. The reader of this work will inevitably savour the wonder of living found in this writer's sometime quirky, always questioning vision.' - Michael Cotter'This is a rich collection from a very accomplished poet. The richness comes from the range of topics, the breadth of treatments, and the author's experience, imagination, powers of observation and wit. There is never a dull moment as we read of adventures, philosophy, nature, religion, fantasy, love and lust. Few can have their head in the clouds at the same time as having their feet on the ground, and Greg Tome is one of the few.' - Brian Haydon

'Hildegard of Bingen was a woman of extraordinary creative expression and this book approaches her wisdom through the gift of poetry which allows us to move into a more intuitive space. It is a book to slow us down, that invites us to ponder, and calls us to follow Hildegard towards a growing greenness in our lives.' - Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE, Abbey of the Arts'Hildegard's life sings and dances across the pages of this engaging harmony of her works, set out in this poetic journey that commences at the twilight of her life and rewinds back through the lens of time. Hildegard's many gifts - including her charm - are expertly embedded. A very enjoyable and fascinating read.' - Dr Christine Cameron'Colleen Keating brings to this impressive collection some very fine, positively Hildegardian qualities - a robust earthiness, an inner strength, a passion for justice and a fiery light.' - Dr Mary O'Connell'What an oeuvre! What a superb and elaborate work! These nine books of poems by Australian poet Colleen Keating tell Hildegard's story in a stunning way. The reader feels put into the landscape and ambience of Hildegard's medieval cloistered world. Thus I highly recommend reading, tasting and meditating on this poetic journey with Hildegard of Bingen.' - Dr Annette Esser, Founder and President of the Scivias Institute for Art and Spirituality, Germany.

"James Finlay spits a vomitous wreck of black ink at social injustice, conspicuous consumption and inhuman violence. But there's tenderness too - the achingly poignant loss of a young child: 'Not all fires catch / and some rise up as embers in the night / and cool to ash before our eyes, / our faces sinking as we watch them / float to ground.' There's beauty in the everyday. Of autumn leaves: 'The gutters run gold as if / some passing philanthropist / has been giving away / more coins than commoners can carry.' And there's deeper reflection: 'In the crowd, I saw a face / In the face I saw a crowd.' Or 'My kind of suicide/ leaves no note, / has no witness. And 'Like all men / I am holding back / my own bodyweight in tears.' This arresting collection reflects a man who has experienced the vicissitudes of a life, analysed them, and refracted them back as art." - Rob Walker"Spitting Ink is the first full-length poetry book by James Finlay, and the reading adventure is full of fresh surprises. In the first poem, 'Not Yet A Poet', Finlay alludes to not being a poet, but he has constructed a work that is full of unexpected twists and turns, for example, 'West Terrace Parklands Forever' is a clever juxtapositioning of commercialism and death's final resting place; 'The Tailored Jacket' makes the point that we are all responsible for war; and 'It's Only Cannibalism If You Consider Them Human', reminds us that it is better to eat the government rather than refugees. Poem after poem leads the reader through unexpected moments… 'The House Is a Mess'; 'Is It a Leaf or a Rat? {or Ode To Our Neighbour's Pool'); and 'My Kind of Suicide', which begs the question, 'RUOK?' Each poem in the book has its own story to tell. As we pull out of this very personal poetry journey, Finlay reminds us in 'Heaven Is a Foyer In a Movie Theatre' that life is not a movie, and just when you feel that he will offer a soft landing, no, the distilled beauty of 'Embers (In Memory of…)' will bring tears to your eyes and lead, fittingly, into the final poem. Spitting Ink presents delicate, sad, abrasive, funny and perceptive insights. Finlay's writing is never mawkish, and he is developing a fine poetic sensibility." - Martin Christmas, MA (Cultural Studies) and published poet

These fifteen stories range in time from contemporary Australia to sixties Britain, in location from Morocco's Atlas Mountains to France. In the title story, a woman sits each day at the bedside of her comatose former lover as he clings to life, her only consolation in the long hours of watching and waiting are the novels of Leo Tolstoy, and food. In 'Beloved Man', a lonely and socially inept bachelor living in the outer suburbs of Sydney seeks companionship on an internet dating site, with shattering consequences when he chooses a Russian bride. In 'Deep End', Danny and Michael, two rascally young sons of a single mother in England in the fifties, have their first encounter with love at a crowded swimming pool during a heatwave. The admirer of an Aboriginal writer makes a pilgrimage to the author's home to talk about her latest book and ends up with a dead dog in his arms when he becomes involved in a bizarre burial in the dark comedy 'The Dog'. Youssef, a thirteen-year-old Moroccan boy who is a small for his age is forced by an aunt to accompany her to the females-only session at the bathhouse so she can save money, resulting in a humiliating and hilarious encounter that plagues him the rest of his life. Some of the tales in Vigil are sad, some are funny, some are both. All are full of humanity and a love for life.

Catching the Light is Suzanne Edgar's fourth collection of poetry. In it, this 'intelligent, inventive and gifted poet continues her daring discoveries and explorations' (Les Murray) of both the light and the darker sides of life. When reviewing The Love Procession (2012), the late Peter Pierce praised Edgar's `intense, melodious, carefully crafted, rewarding performance' (Canberra Times, 2013). In the American magazine Antipodes (2014), John Beston's overview of her poetry concluded, 'her most important contribution to Australian literature and to world literature in general lies in her love poetry…her books belong alongside the outstanding women poets…in Australia: Judith Wright, Gwen Harwood and Rosemary Dobson'. Readers of Catching the Light will not be disappointed.

Elizabeth has made cards, restyled fairy tales, kept journals, penned love letters, told stories to children and grandchildren, written memoirs and created poetry for as long as she remembers. The harvest of this passion for making and marking is the love her grandchildren have for writing. It Can Take Till Now is a lyrical mix of voices exploring moments of whimsy, curiosity, gratitude and pure delight. More than a collection of poetry, this collection captures the story of a family over four generations.'The chronicle of a life and a family told through moments of insight offers wisdom to us all. The skill of the poet to condense complex experience into such rare and potent words opens a window into the inner world of everyone. Elizabeth Goodsir achieves this with such heart and humour that we can feel kinder and wiser to have known her and through her know ourselves. I recommend this rich and welcoming experience to all lovers of life and family.' - Aurora Hammond BSocWk, MA Psych'Elizabeth and Bruce have been in my life for thirty years. In that time I have observed a family whose love for art and beauty and experimenting and exploring has been inspiring and relentless. In It Can Take Till Now, Elizabeth's written wisdom is not misspent moralising. Instead it is offered with open hands, and sits beautifully beside Bruce's drawings that capture life in all its quivering glory. We simply glide into the hearts of these two artists. What can be more meaningful than reading odes about family and the close friends who define our short time on earth. Poems such as 'Birthing day', 'Reunion' and 'Farewell Sweet Neighbour' remind us where poetry needs to sit: in our breast pocket close to our hearts.' -Neeta Oakley BA, BSW, GradCert. HHS

In this, her fifth poetry collection, Karen Throssell revisits similar links between the intensely domestic/ personal and the broader social and political worlds. But in The Dialectics of Rain there are not only new fields of interest - travel and place (Cuba, an Aboriginal settlement in the Northern Territory, and France); a wry and unflinching look at the generational phases of 'love'; and a series on race and terrorism. The work also experiments with form in a series of ekphrastic poems (looking at the interconnection between poetry and art, music, pottery and film) and a number of longer collage poems which weave poetry and prose.