Alchemy of the Sun

(Paperback)

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Alchemy of the Sun is a book about journeys. Sent to 'open up the country', ignorant of Aboriginal strategies for coping with the terrain and climate, many of the desert explorers failed, some dying in the attempt. Today's battle is with man-made climate change and its aftereffects, an ongoing fecklessness that has disturbed the delicate balance of elements and environment. These poems seek to challenge the mindset of 'conquering' the land, and offer instead the opportunity of mediation with the forces that shape the planet and our lives.

'This is a finely drafted collection with subtle linkages across the poems and the sections all building to a unified picture of struggle, mistakes, curiosity and insight.' Les Wicks, Rochford Street Review

'Bradstock is a poet of environmental and psychological degeneration and loss as she documents the consequences of living in a vanishing Edenic garden. Her poetry is characterised by a richly evocative use of language as she creates her historical narratives....a significant and irreplaceable voice.' Phillip Hall, Plumwood Mountain

Author Bio

Margaret Bradstock is a Sydney poet, critic and editor. She has been a Senior Lecturer at UNSW, Asialink writer-in-residence at Beijing University, co-editor of Five Bells, and on the Board of Directors for Australian Poetry. Her poetry is widely published and has won awards, including the Wesley Michel Wright Prize for The Pomelo Tree and the Woollahra Festival Award for Barnacle Rock. Alchemy of the Sun is her ninth collection.