What do you think?
Rate this book
Refugia
‘in ember and ash / the heart of the Noongar Nation beats buried...’
Refugia is an unparalleled work of vision and political fury from Noongar and Yawuru poet and scholar Elfie Shiosaki. Inspired by the beeliar (Swan River) and the NASA James Webb Space Telescope’s first year of science, this collection draws on colonial archives to contest the occupation of Noongar Country.
As the bicentennial year of the colony of Western Australia approaches, Shiosaki looks to the stars and back to the earth to make sense of memory and the afterlife of imperial violence.
Refugia is an unparalleled work of vision and political fury from Noongar and Yawuru poet and scholar Elfie Shiosaki. Inspired by the beeliar (Swan River) and the NASA James Webb Space Telescope’s first year of science, this collection draws on colonial archives to contest the occupation of Noongar Country.
As the bicentennial year of the colony of Western Australia approaches, Shiosaki looks to the stars and back to the earth to make sense of memory and the afterlife of imperial violence.
- GenresPoetry
96 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2024
3 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 11, 2025
Wonderful poetry focusing on the formation of the Swan River Colony in 1829 taking country away from the Noongar Nation.
August 14, 2024
4 stars. Amazing poetry. I hope it’s nominated for next years Stella Prize.
February 8, 2025
"bending and stretching
time and space around itself
even light cannot escape
its gravitational field
tenderly embracing stars and dust
only for the black hole to eat them alive"
In Refugia, Shiosaki explores what the learnings from the Webb telescope's first year of operation meant to her while continuing her exploration of archives. The poems bring together ideas about time and trauma, explosions and endurance, and how oberservation through documentation impacts the learner. It is on theme with Shiosaki's previous work, but takes it into a more philosophical direction with startling imagery.
"once you cross the event horison
you can never go back
not even the light
we can never go back
to a time of not knowing"
time and space around itself
even light cannot escape
its gravitational field
tenderly embracing stars and dust
only for the black hole to eat them alive"
In Refugia, Shiosaki explores what the learnings from the Webb telescope's first year of operation meant to her while continuing her exploration of archives. The poems bring together ideas about time and trauma, explosions and endurance, and how oberservation through documentation impacts the learner. It is on theme with Shiosaki's previous work, but takes it into a more philosophical direction with startling imagery.
"once you cross the event horison
you can never go back
not even the light
we can never go back
to a time of not knowing"
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews