Join us for a conversation with acclaimed Filipina Australian novelist, poet, short story writer, dramatist and performer Merlinda Bobis, who will be chatting with us (and singing for us) from Ngunnawal Country in Canberra via Zoom about her book, The Kindness of Birds.
An oriole sings to a dying father. A bleeding-heart dove saves the day. A crow wakes a woman’s resolve. Owls help a boy endure isolation. Cockatoos attend the laying of the dead. Always there are birds in these linked stories that pay homage to kindness and the kinship among women and the planet. From Australia to the Philippines, across cultures and species, kindness inspires resilience amidst loss and grief. Being together ignites resistance against violence. We pull through in the company of others.
Kindness cannot self-isolate. It moves both ways and all ways, like breath.
WINNER, CANBERRA CRITICS’ CIRCLE
SHORTLISTED, CHRISTINA STEAD PRIZE FOR FICTION, NSW PREMIER’S LITERARY AWARDS 2022
Publisher: Spinifex Press 2021 © Merlinda Bobis 2021
Cover design: Deb Snibson, MAPG
Note:—
—1) We stock limited copies of the book in-store. Head to our online shop to pre-purchase your copy and collect it on the day.
—2) Please select a ticket with a drink if you would like a refreshment
—3) Our Writers In Conversation events are normally $10. But, as our writer will be joining us via Zoom on this occasion, admission tickets are free with the request for a $5 donation. These funds help us to subsidise our next writer-in-conversation event. We thank you for your support.
Bio
Award-winning writer Merlinda Bobis grew up in Albay, Philippines at the foot of an active volcano and now lives in Ngunnawal Country (Canberra), Australia. Novelist, poet, short story writer, dramatist and performer, she dreams up stories across different geographies and languages: English, Filipino and Bikol. She defies borders by transforming them into flourishing spaces of interconnection.
Merlinda has published novels, short story and poetry collections in Australia, Philippines, and the US, and critical-creative essays internationally. Her plays for stage and radio were performed in various countries, some by herself with dance and music, and she has also been composing songs. She has designed and facilitated community arts projects on the environment, women’s business, intercultural engagements and migration. She continues to work across genres as writer, performer, community arts facilitator and scholar.
Merlinda has a Bachelor of Arts (Summa cum Laude) from Aquinas University of Legazpi and a Master of Arts in Literature (Meritissimus) from University of Santo Tomas, Manila. For ten years, she taught Literature and English at Philippine universities before coming to Australia on a study grant. She completed her Doctorate of Creative Arts at University of Wollongong where she taught Creative Writing for more than 20 years. She is currently Honorary Senior Lecturer at Australian National University.
Acknowledgements & Credits
We respectfully acknowledge the Sovereign Custodians of the land and waters upon which we live and work, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. We extend this respect to all First Peoples.