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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'A timely and important collection of poems by the award-winning author of The White Girl and Blood. Divided into three sections – Blood, Skin and Water – the poems in Whisper Songs address themes of loss (of people and place), the legacies of colonial history and violence, and the relationships between Country and memory.
'Tony Birch invites the reader into a tender conversation with those he loves - and has loved - the most. He also challenges the past to speak up by interrogating the archive, including documents from his own family history, highlighting forcefully the ways in which the personal is also intensely political. Whisper Songs reveals Birch at his lyrical and intimate best.' (Publication summary)
Teaching Resources
This work has teaching resources.
Notes
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Dedication:
For Wayne Birch
25 July 1961 - 26 March 2018
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Ben Hession Reviews Whisper Songs by Tony Birch
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , December no. 27 2021;
— Review of Whisper Songs 2021 selected work poetry'Tony Birch is a Naarm (Melbourne) based writer, who is probably better known for his prose, including his short story collections and novels, of which, The White Girl, won the Indigenous Writers’ Prize of the 2020 New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards. He was also the winner of the Patrick White Award back in 2017. Whisper Songs is Birch’s second volume of poetry and comes five years after Broken Teeth. Much of Whisper Songs was written during last year’s COVID -19 related lockdowns and may be seen as a meditation on his Aboriginal identity. However, in Whisper Songs, the reader is more than a mere spectator of the poet’s autobiography and revelation. Rather, Birch invites us to share something of a largely personal journey, exploring a sense of heritage and connection to Country.' (Introduction)
-
y
At Home with Tony Birch
2021
23450178
2021
single work
podcast
interview
'Dr Tony Birch is an activist, historian and essayist. He is the author of three novels - The White Girl (winner of the 2020 NSW Premier's Award for Indigenous Writing and shortlisted for the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Prize), Ghost River (winner of the 2016 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing), and Blood (shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award).
'He is also the author of Shadowboxing and four short story collections, Dark As Last Night, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People, as well as the poetry collection Whisper Songs.' (Production introduction)
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Warnings, Consequences and Laments
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 28 August 2021; (p. 18)
— Review of Sydney Spleen 2021 selected work poetry ; Whisper Songs 2021 selected work poetry ; Trigger Warning 2021 selected work poetry -
Working Together on Tales of Strength
2021
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 7 August 2021; (p. 14)'Lee’s designs reflect the pain in the pages of Birch’s new books, and he loved them so much he inked one on his skin, writes Ellie Dudley Melbourne treasure Tony Birch and First Nations artist Jenna Lee have created three works of great beauty, writes Ellie Dudley know we are told not to judge a book by its cover. I’m well aware that the cliche is a cliche for a reason. But readers could easily make an exception for the three contemporary artworks that encase Tony Birch’s three new books.' (Introduction)
-
Warnings, Consequences and Laments
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 28 August 2021; (p. 18)
— Review of Sydney Spleen 2021 selected work poetry ; Whisper Songs 2021 selected work poetry ; Trigger Warning 2021 selected work poetry -
Ben Hession Reviews Whisper Songs by Tony Birch
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , December no. 27 2021;
— Review of Whisper Songs 2021 selected work poetry'Tony Birch is a Naarm (Melbourne) based writer, who is probably better known for his prose, including his short story collections and novels, of which, The White Girl, won the Indigenous Writers’ Prize of the 2020 New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards. He was also the winner of the Patrick White Award back in 2017. Whisper Songs is Birch’s second volume of poetry and comes five years after Broken Teeth. Much of Whisper Songs was written during last year’s COVID -19 related lockdowns and may be seen as a meditation on his Aboriginal identity. However, in Whisper Songs, the reader is more than a mere spectator of the poet’s autobiography and revelation. Rather, Birch invites us to share something of a largely personal journey, exploring a sense of heritage and connection to Country.' (Introduction)
-
Working Together on Tales of Strength
2021
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 7 August 2021; (p. 14)'Lee’s designs reflect the pain in the pages of Birch’s new books, and he loved them so much he inked one on his skin, writes Ellie Dudley Melbourne treasure Tony Birch and First Nations artist Jenna Lee have created three works of great beauty, writes Ellie Dudley know we are told not to judge a book by its cover. I’m well aware that the cliche is a cliche for a reason. But readers could easily make an exception for the three contemporary artworks that encase Tony Birch’s three new books.' (Introduction)
-
y
At Home with Tony Birch
2021
23450178
2021
single work
podcast
interview
'Dr Tony Birch is an activist, historian and essayist. He is the author of three novels - The White Girl (winner of the 2020 NSW Premier's Award for Indigenous Writing and shortlisted for the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Prize), Ghost River (winner of the 2016 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing), and Blood (shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award).
'He is also the author of Shadowboxing and four short story collections, Dark As Last Night, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People, as well as the poetry collection Whisper Songs.' (Production introduction)
Awards
- 2022 shortlisted Colin Roderick Award
