Continent Aflame

Edited by Pat Anderson, Sally Gardner, Paul James & Paul Komesaroff

Praise for ‘Continent Aflame’

“There has never been a more critical time for reflection, collectiveness and positive action at both a local and global scale to protect what is most dear to us all … We must respect and walk with fire, not think we can just fight with it. Fire and Country have lore and we must learn our place in it.”

—Oliver Costello, CEO Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation

“This collection is written by and for grieving hearts and awakening minds in a time of innocence lost … With eyes so opened, stronger minds, and more courageous hearts, we can now set a path to healing the rift between ourselves and the rest of Nature.”

—Penny D Sackett, Former Chief Scientist of Australia

“I hope that those with eyes to see, ears to hear, welcome the authors of these contributions, and give heed to their analysis. We all depend on that.”

—Thomas Keneally, author (from his foreword)

The Australian bushfire crisis of 2019-2020 was a disaster on an unprecedented scale which dramatically focused attention on the need to review and reassess fundamental attitudes to our relationships with nature, fire and the land. Continent Aflame assembles responses of the Australian community from many perspectives, including cultural, economic, scientific and artistic. Together, the contributions forcefully bear witness to the moral imperative we collectively face to make the changes that are now unavoidable. We may not get another chance.

Contributors:

Bruce Pascoe, Susan Norrie, Bill Gammage, Alexis Wright, David Bowman, Greg Lehmann, Ross Gittins, Thomas Keneally, Freya Matthews, Philipa Rothfield, Arnold Zable, Ian Kerridge, Kate Judith, Raimond Gaita, John Funder, Helen Szoke, Stephen Duckett, George Browning, Helen Caldicott, Paul Valent, Mark Beeson, Maithri Goonetilleke, Ross Garnaut, Will Steffen, Lorraine Shannon, Paul Carter, Lionel Bopage, Guy Rundle, Jessica Weir, Catherine Larkins, Philip Freier, James Collett, Tom Griffiths, Vanessa Cavanagh, Bhiamie Williamson, Stephen Muecke, Miranda Nation, Jane Fisher, Kieran Donaghue, Rimona Kedem, Hugo Muecke, Anne Elvey, Phillip Darby, Anika Stobart, Will Mackey and the editors: Pat Anderson, Sally Gardner, Paul James, Paul Komesaroff.

Royalties will be donated to a fire-affected community.

Further Reading:

Readers may also be interested in the Bureau of Meteorology ‘State of the Climate’ report (2020).