Broken Teeth

Description

They are not just words whistling on the wind. They come laden with other gifts. With a whole place: Melbourne. It makes you wonder what elements must thus congeal to sustain the songs, the poems, across all these pages without once faltering, without missing a beat. Perhaps it is in what they call 'tone' - no pun intended, mate. 'Don't think you'll get away with lightly reading these Tony Birch poems. They are not just words whistling on the wind. They come laden with other gifts. With a whole place: Melbourne. Objects proliferate in The Anatomy Contraption sequence, where, in a singular assemblage of technology, modern science and early-twentieth-century eugenicism it is easy to coolly dissect 'three infant hearts' for a cabinet of curiosities, which 'congeals together / like a song.' It makes you wonder what elements must thus congeal to sustain the songs, the poems, across all these pages without once faltering, without missing a beat.' - Stephen Muecke

Tony Birch is a renowned academic, author and educator of Aboriginal, West Indian and Irish descent. He is the inaugural recipient of the Bruce McGuinness Fellowship at Victoria University, named for one of Victoria's most respected Aboriginal elders and a long-time activist in the struggle for Aboriginal justice. His research looks into first-hand testimonies from explorer and settler diaries and other historic records housed in various archives. He also plans to visit the University of British Columbia to conduct comparative research on the topic of climate change with some of Canada's First People. Birch is also a highly respected novelist, authoring Shadowboxing, Blood (shortlisted for the 2012 Miles Franklin Award) and The Promise (shortlisted for the 2014 Victorian Premier's Literary Award). BROKEN TEETH (Cordite Books, 2016) is his first poetry collection.