Shakespeare, Sir Thomas More and the Strangers’ Case
Shakespeare writes about race. A lot. Othello and The Merchant of Venice are just the best known examples. Most regard Shakespeare’s writings as humanising the …
immigration
One of the most direct ways that exclusion on the basis of citizenship occurs is by denial of access to territory. Denial of freedom of movement. What this can mean to the potential immigrant is denial of the right to work, the right to safety and to education. Thousands of irregular migrants have lost their lives seeking to cross international borders.
Ekphrasis on Ekphrasis: Haegue Yang’s Changing From From to From
This poem recalls a visit to the National Art Gallery of Australia, as part of a workshop run by Theodore Ell on writing poetry. The …
We will decide who comes here …
Many years ago now, in Australia, a politician during a election campaign decided to use the chance arrival of a boat of refugees to bolster …
Rings of Power: true to Tolkien’s vision or ‘woke’ distortion?
Tolkien was an enormous part of my world when I grew up. I was and am a Tolkien nerd. But in those years, his works …
Maria Famà – “I will not check the box for white on any form”
Maria Famà’s poem “I Am Not White” lives in the folded places between two worlds. Through her Italian-American eyes we see her lived experience of …
Silence
Silence. One day I visited a bookstore. It’s one of those clinging to survival in an increasingly post-book world. Aimed at a “discerning” audience it …
Electing the President
There is something fascinating about the “contest” which elects the President of the United States. The 2016 election is no exception. Candidates who weren’t imagined …
Australia’s refugee intake at historic lows
Update November 2016: Since this post back in 2015, Australia has announced a special humanitarian intake for Syrian refugees. According to information published by the …
Patriotic Cosmopolitanism
Can we, at the same time, love our family, our neighbours, our country, our people, humanity and the world we live in? Surely we can. …