Oz is Burning

by Phyllis Irene Radford

Fire, fire burning bright, warm my toes, light my room. Burn my fingers or waft my prayer to heaven.Summer in the southern hemisphere is Fire time. Managed fire can be a blessing, clearing out choking undergrowth and removing pestilent rodents. Out of control fire is a different entity altogether. In the summer of 2019/2020 nearly the entire continent of Australia burned. Half a billion animals lost their lives. Hundreds of thousands of acres of habitat and agricultural land was scoured. Some of the fires were human caused. Others were the result of climate change—humanity’s greedy exploitation of resources—and decades of drought.Even after the fires are out, the land still suffers.From Suzanne Newnham’s strange look at how a person who hears fire perceives the conflagration, to Jack Dann’s and Ann Poore’s evocative poems to tales of wonder and outrage, and Sivlia Brown’s and Narrelle M. Harris’s poignant hopes for a better future, this anthology demonstrates the agony of a continent, but it also shows bits of dark humor and hope among the devastation.B-Cubed Press always donates a portion of each sale to charity. For this book that highlights Australian authors and authors with strong ties to the Antipodes, we will donate to WIRES, NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service Inc.

Genres: Nature

218 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2020

About the author

See main profile under Irene Radford.

Phyllis Irene Radford Karr was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1950.

Reviews

[Suzanne Newnham]

Oz is Burning brings together suspense-filled recollections of living through bushfire, personification of Gaia, fire, and creatures with expected and some novel conclusions, while other stories are dystopian, or based on historical narratives. The stories are heart-felt and offer readers unique journeys into living on a land consumed by fire, as well as drought, and flood.
"I wrote Firestorm Sounds not just to chronicle my story with extreme hypersensitivity to sounds, but to show thought processes dealing with a chronic medical condition while trying to cope with pain in a world on fire; to create awareness of hidden disabilities; and be a voice for those unable to express their pain."
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08F5GDDRQ
Oz is Burning
The charity chosen to receive a percentage of Oz is Burning sales is the Wildlife Rescue Service (WIRES) which is reliant on the generosity of the community for nearly all of its funding. https://www.wires.org.au

[Clare Rhoden · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of short stories inspired by the Australian bushfires of summer 2019/20. You are bound to find a favourite story here, plus ones that will really make you think.
Congratulations on this publications.
Full disclosure: I have a short story published in this anthology. It doesn't have to be your favourite though :-)