pettitt-schipp,renee

＂This deeply personal book is also an important historical record. Written from the heart and covering a period of time working on Christmas Island with asylum seekers until her return to Australia with an urgency to bear witness, Pettitt-Schipp’s steady eye is levelled at a facade of Australian inclusivity and openness ＂this land’s edge /has always been an invitation/a white-toothed smile/ to walk on＂. To those denied entry, those white teeth become menace, exclusion, shark, crocodile. In a book filled with heart-breakingly tender portraits, borders and bodies, sanctions and sanctuary are held close to each other in ways which articulate the space but also, the common ground between ＂us＂.＂--Amanda Joy **＂These beautiful Christmas Island poems capture both the despair of asylum seekers imprisoned by rock and sea and their ancient will to continue.＂--Gillian Triggs (Series: UWAP Poetry) [Subject: Poetry]