Valence: Considering War Through Poetry and Theory

by Susan Hawthorne

Valence
in chemistry, the number of bonds in an
element’s atom
in linguistics, the number of arguments
controlled by a verbal predicate
in psychology, the emotional charge
something has

In this remarkable annotated poem, Susan Hawthorne commits to words the horrors of war that have been left unspoken. She shatters the conspiracy of silence and dares to draw links between militarism, fundamentalism and the sex industry. She rails against the violence of war and contemplates the link between place and the history of war that is infused into the earth. With a fresh examination of her surroundings, she considers the endless cycle of war that survives on the persistence of hope—hope of an end to war, hope of an end to suffering. This is a hope that Susan Hawthorne does not ultimately share, but her courage in telling the truth about war through her poetry is a gift for readers.

12 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Susan Hawthorne is the author of six collections of poetry, a novel, political theory and a quiz book. Her poetry collections include The Language in My Tongue (1993), Bird (1999), The Butterfly Effect (2005), Unsettling the Land (with Suzanne Bellamy, 2008), Earth’s Breath (2009) and Cow (2011). Her other titles include The Falling Woman (1992), Wild Politics (2002) and The Spinifex Quiz Book (1993). Susan is a poet, novelist, aerialist, political activist and publisher.

Born in Wagga Wagga, she grew up in rural New South Wales. She has a BA (Hons) from La Trobe University in Philosophy, an MA (Prelim) in Ancient Greek language and a PhD in Political Science and Women’s Studies both from the University of Melbourne, and a Post-graduate Diploma in Sanskrit from La Trobe. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Writing Program at James Cook University, Townsville. In 2009, Susan was an Asialink Literature Resident at the University of Madras, Chennai. She has lectured, spoken and performed at festivals and conferences around Australia and in New Zealand, USA, Canada, UK, India, France, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Germany, Korea, Spain, Fiji, South Africa, Uganda. She is also a publisher and Director of Spinifex Press and played a leading role among independent Australian publishers in innovative and eBook publishing.