AustLit

'Surely we are better than this?

'The seeking of asylum in Australia has been politicised in recent decades. Our national conversation has vilified people fleeing persecution and desensitised the Australian polity to human suffering. We are further marginalising the most vulnerable groups in the world and at greater expense than accommodating refugees in the community. What impact does this have upon our collective ethics and national identity? And if our public conversation is steering us into murky moral territory, where may a dissenting voice be heard?

'Writing to the Wire is a collection of poems by Australians and people who would like to be Australians. It is a book about the idea of being Australian. It is about who we are and who we would rather be. Writing to the Wire offers new ways to understand injustice, to speak out and tell stories. Poetry can show us what we’re thinking and feeling in a way our politics has failed to do.' (Publication summary)

'From the ashes of the Penguin Australia Poetry Series, a new publishing house took wing. New and emerging creators, as well as established voices sought an independent publishing house with a global vision and an innovative approach. They found IP.

'Now, 20 years on, more than forty creators return to celebrate the survival of this maverick venture with the very best of work past, current and future. Their message to you is that independent publishing houses like IP are, and always will be, an essential part of the cultural landscape even in the face of globalisation and aspiring robots.

'Who are these daring writers whose work is Just off Message?

'You know how to find them.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.