Are Angels OK?: The Parallel Universes of New Zealand Writers and Scientists

by Paul Callaghan (Editor), Bill Manhire (Editor)

New Zealand’s top writers and physicists collaborate to create a provocative and fascinating discussion on the most strange and fantastic aspects of physics. With topics that include the curvature of space time, wave particle duality, the untimely death of Schrodinger's cat, Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, dark energy, and the end of the universe, this extraordinary guide artfully blends philosophy and literature with science.

338 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

Paul Callaghan is a First Nations custodian in the land now called Australia. Paul belongs to the land of the Worimi people which is located on the east coast of Australia about 2 hours north of Sydney, New South Wales. He is an Aboriginal story teller and dancer. Paul has held a number of senior executive positions in his career and has qualifications in a diverse range of disciplines including surveying, drafting, accounting, economics, training, executive leadership, emotional intelligence, company boards, and executive/organisational coaching.
Paul’s passion however has always been around healing individuals, communities and the Earth our Mother. His corporate roles have always incorporated this passion.
Paul has been ‘going bush’ for many, many years and learning traditional ‘Lore’ from his Elders much of which he is willing to share with those who respect it.
Paul also ran a very successful spiritual/energy healing practice for many years with a wide variety of clients and illnesses.
The underpinning foundation of the book is his journey through depression and the role Aboriginal culture, spirituality and philosophy had in not only enabling him to recover, but also empowering him to live life by his truth rather than everybody else’s expectations. The book has a number of exercises and models based on his experience aimed at assisting people from all walks of life to build the courage and skills to live a life of purpose, choice and wellbeing. You will find it is a combination of styles including textbook, self help, Aboriginal history, Aboriginal philosophy, Aboriginal spirituality and an autobiography of his journey through depression.

Reviews

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it’s a shame this anthology only has one review, so I’ll add my two cents. Are Angels Okay? begins with an interesting premise: what happens when artists (writers, poets and essayists) collaborate with scientists to create art that explores domains such as physics and astronomy? Can they pierce the veil that is seen to divide the arts and sciences and show how both draw on creativity, imagination and observation to say something about the world?

Like with any anthology, the work on offer is varied. I thought some pieces more successfully fit the brief (or at least my own tastes) than others. My favorites were:
-Unobtainium by Elizabeth Knox (though be warned that it contains a rather dated understanding of autism)
-WWW and other poems by Vincent O’Sullivan
-The Deadlift by Katherine Chidgey
-Dead of Night by Witi Ihimaera
-Are Angels Okay? An Essay by Chris Price

[Rabishu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some real gems in here, probably the Witi Ihimarea short story and Chris Price poems are the highlights for me. A bit surprised the Lloyd Jones stuff got in there, though, as it's a lot more experimental in approach than the other inclusions.