Aquamorphia: Falling for Water is a mythological, psychological and elemental poetic history of water in three deeply entrancing parts.
Each section of this exciting and tumultuous water narrative takes the reader for a ride on different streams of intoxicating, daring and at times playful water worlds.
From ancient Greek creation myths to the Australian beach, Aquamorphia moves symphonically, praising the maternal and generative qualities of fluidity since the Big Bang, or splitting of the Cosmic Egg.
The verse is afloat with metaphors that flesh out the minutiae of the aquatic landscapes that sustain life.
IP (Interactive Publications Pty Ltd) –
These words are a lyrical bathing, a renewal. Drawing judiciously on Western mythology, feminist philosophy, indigenous cosmology, scientific knowledge, and the murmurings of waters themselves, Aquamorphia offers a renewed environmental imaginary, in which we can remember that we too are of the sea, and might learn to breathe underwater.
– Dr Astrida Neimanis, Cultural Researcher, Linköping University, Sweden
IP (Interactive Publications Pty Ltd) –
Aquamorphia is beautifully written with deep exploration of water to places we rarely go, that also touches our sub-conscience and sub-conscious water value sets. Water is life’s essence: it engulfs us every day and beyond into our Dreaming. Here, Shé Hawke presents water to all in a different light.
– Bradley Moggridge, Kamilaroi Water Scientist and Program Manager, Aboriginal Water Initiative, NSW Office of Water, Australia
IP (Interactive Publications Pty Ltd) –
In an ecological feminist sensibility, in bodies of water and watery bodies, in love, in loss, in creative birthing, there are no lines and divides, no principles or measures – just the flow of life itself. Shé’s genius is to draw out and distil this magical essence, holding it and telling it, even while dissolving the wordy limits of our history.
– Ariel Salleh, Visiting Professor of Culture, Philosophy & Environment, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa