This is the paper I gave at The Tower at the End of the World Conference in Torshavn, Faroe Islands, in May 2017. It was exceedingly well received, though very many people couldn’t calibrate their aural senses to my north west coast twang! Among a conference full of exotic people, I was by far the most exotic – almost a Thylacine. Continue reading “Talking Tasmanian Literature in the Faroe Islands”
This paper, published in Island Studies Journal, extends, in important ways, some of the many themes discussed in my 2007 paper, ‘A Phenomenology of Islands’. The paper crucially considers the role of the sea in the construction of a collective island psyche. I think this is a superior paper Continue reading “The Sea, the Sea, Always the Sea…”
This paper was published in the very first edition of Island Studies Journal, and at the time of this posting, remains the most frequently cited paper of all those published in that journal. I spent my final academic years as a committed phenomenologist, and I still am, but don’t let this apparently unfriendly word deter you Continue reading “Islands: Mysterious Things, Eh?”
This little paper exists in article and essay forms. It gets cited surprisingly often Continue reading “Islands Breed Poets”
Ever heard of the Faroe Islands? They’re half way between Scotland and Iceland, more or less, and as far as I can tell, they are most famous for puffins, sheep and magnificent woollen jumpers. And that they still whale. It’s basically a vertical-cliffed protrusion of basalt. And it rains a lot.
I’m going to an event, part literary festival, part academic conference, with the title ‘The Tower at the End of the World – Islands and Literature‘. I’m not there as a poet – but I intend to read poetry at every opportunity. Meanwhile, if you’re interested Continue reading “Hay is going to the Faroe Islands to talk about Tasmanian Poetry!”