Whisper Songs

by Tony Birch

In this stunning collection Tony Birch invites the reader into a tender conversation with those he loves - and 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.

Genres: Poetry, Australia, Nonfiction, Indigenous

81 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2021

About the author

Tony Birch is the author of Ghost River, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing and Blood, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and three short story collections, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award. Tony is a frequent contributor to ABC local and national radio and a regular guest at writers’ festivals. He lives in Melbourne and is a Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University.

Reviews

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read. Reflected. Read again. Powerful. Challenging. Equisite storytelling through poetry.

[Georgia Brunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't think poetry is for me. These poems did make me sad and feel for Tony, but I wish I could've appreciated them more and be more into poetry. Think I'm going to donate this one, so someone who would actually love it can experience it.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Spoke soft words
calling your name
echoes to glimpsed light
fell with a dying moon
our whispered songs for you. '

From 'Little man'

First nations author, Tony Birch wrote the majority of this poetry collection in 2018 after the sudden death of his younger brother, Wayne.

The collection is made up of 3 sections: blood, skin and water.

The poems explore family connection, identity and sovereignty/ connection with land and water. In 'skin' we see the Australian immigration laws being examined against Australia's colonial past.

Birch has written words to savour & reflect upon. A powerful and heart felt collection.

[Serena]

A good teaching resource for poetry.
Critically discusses colonialism.
Aboriginal resistance and strength.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never deeply loved Tony Birch's fiction, but finally got around to picking up his poetry. Turns out he is a hell of a poet - this collection is polished, wry, funny and hits like a truck when he needs it to. The collection explores family, and loss - including the kind of loss that is opportunity and potential. In the earlier sections, must is gentle and often infused with loving nostalgia. Later, every line hits ... "Elders negotiate medieval spikes of a park bench" ... "Penrith station sits broken a greiving heart in pieces the platform a way station for essential workers living dead-days of iso-lation" ... "a black woman asleep on a train is no news is good news until the day arrives and she becomes a fact of death" Gorgeous stuff.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I will find myself revisiting this collection in the years to come. Beautiful reflections on family, Country and society.

[Ali W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glad this was my final book of the year.

Hard going sometimes, our colonial ancestors, especially those we ceded authority to, were ignorant white-supremacist savages.

Necessary reading but mainly for the magic of his words in Birrarung Billsbong, How water works, Waiting for the train with Thelma Plum.

[Chanel Chapters]

Written by indigenous Australian author and some of the poems are about colonial violence against indigenous Australians.
Trigger warning for suicide. Split into sections - skin blood water.
Poems about Catholicism, family, identity & connection to country. Didn’t love but good writing. beneath the bridge was my fave.

[sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

i found this collection very hit and miss - i absolutely adored some of the poems but most i simply enjoyed but wouldn’t return to

4am the Window
Leaving
The Eight Truths of Khan
Companions in Death
Birrarung Billabong
Gunnamatta

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can appreciate some of these poems, and there are definite standouts when Birch really breaks away from form (e.g. Forebearer), but as much as I love poetry, I absolutely cannot stand modern collections and I don’t think I ever will.

[Wendy Bridges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tony Birch is always such an evocative writer. This is a stunning collection that will stay with me and be reread many times.

[Jehlish · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I must be the bird
of every journey
my brother tells me"

Amazing.

[Mentai · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite poems were the ones where Tony Birch used columns, line breaks and lots of space: my eyes jumped around, and the reading became ambiguous.

[Riley Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of poetry often, but Birch's words of blood abd Country hit hard

[Kate Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary collection of clever, insightful and moving poetry about history, family and memory (with the archival-inspired testimonies of Skin particular highlights).

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

One to dip in and out of. The grief is palpable.

[Ms Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Tony Birch's writing- he's really honest and his writing feels stripped back without being bare. Does that even make sense?
This is a collection of poems- I believe his first published- and they are organised in three themes- Blood, Skin and Water. He delves into his family history, colonial violence, the relationships between country and place and memory.

It's very personal and very lyrical and I highly recommend.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whisper Songs (2021) by Tony Birch is an evocative and searing account of grief, loss, history, memory and love. This short collection is organised into three sections – Blood, Skin and Water, each reflecting on the past and its impact on the present and future. It’s an intimate collection, a tender conversation with the poet as he tells us secrets about those he has loved and lost in the most tragic of circumstances. His reworking of historical documents into poetic form also reminds us of the power of social history and how it impacts on and infiltrates personal history. I found these poems delicate and beautiful and ate this up in one glorious sitting.

[Carole888 · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/...

I read a Bookcrossing copy which has been journaled by other readers. The book is divided into 3 sections, with themes of loss, grief, memory, love, and history, through time. A thought provoking and touching collection … very sad to read about the sudden passing of the author’s younger brother.