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'Bees Do Bother: An Antagonist's Carepack takes its cue from Leonardo da Vinci’s observation that the bee does not simply collect and use but digests and transforms. It considers firstly, how our understanding of social interactions might borrow from those of the more-thanhuman and secondly, that we need to reconceptualise existence as closely connected to the more-than-human. As Maurice Maeterlinck noted as far back as 1901, “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.” As its title suggests, the collection plays upon the dual meaning of bothering as an act of care as much as an act of disturbance. The central question driving Bees Do Bother is: how might we creatively draw together these strands of care and activism? Taking a specifically feminist approach, the poetry collection considers how experiences of intimacy and labour have been shaped by cultural hierarchies and divisions around gender, race, capital, and nation. It explores how poetry might highlight existing social and ecological vulnerability and unsettle prescribed roles. In imaginatively teasing out and beginning the work of transforming relations, how might poetry lead to more sustainable forms of belonging and solidarity?' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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No Time Limits : Three New Poetry Collections
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 437 2021; (p. 58-59)
— Review of How to Make a Basket 2021 selected work poetry ; Bees Do Bother 2021 selected work poetry ; The Open 2021 selected work poetry'Good poetry uncovers the secret in the manifest, and the manifest in the secret. Three new collections throw this paradox into vibrant, unsettling relief. Each book deserves a broad readership. Each beats back the lethargic thinking that has invaded society under the cover of the pandemic.' (Introduction)
-
No Time Limits : Three New Poetry Collections
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 437 2021; (p. 58-59)
— Review of How to Make a Basket 2021 selected work poetry ; Bees Do Bother 2021 selected work poetry ; The Open 2021 selected work poetry'Good poetry uncovers the secret in the manifest, and the manifest in the secret. Three new collections throw this paradox into vibrant, unsettling relief. Each book deserves a broad readership. Each beats back the lethargic thinking that has invaded society under the cover of the pandemic.' (Introduction)
Last amended 4 Jun 2021 12:24:59