This is the reference list from the back of The Comfort of Water. That list could have, perhaps should have, been much longer, as there are so many great writers who have helped shape me, books I’d love to share with readers.
Some wonderful Australian writers who are not in my references but who are inspiring me in their explorations include Mark Tredinnick, Bill Neidje, Max Harrison, Bob Randall, Sally Morgan, Alexis Wright, Patrick Holland, Tom Griffiths, Bill Gammage, Kate Rigby, Michael Green, Samuel Alexander, Susan Murphy, Ashley Hay, David Tacey, Peter Hay, Patrick Jones, Noelene Kelly, Tanya Massy, Margo Lanagan, Nicolas Rothwell. Overseas, David Abram, Terry Tempest Williams, Paul Shepard, Alan Garner, Sean Kane, Annie Dillard and Barry Lopez are magnificent guides.
Alexander, Christopher, The Timeless Way of Building, Oxford University Press, 1979.
Beardsell, David and Cam, The Yarra River, A Natural Treasure, Royal Society of Victoria, 1999.
Berry, Thomas, The Great Work, Harmony, 2000.
Eidelson, Meyer, The Melbourne Dreaming: a Guide to the Aboriginal places of Melbourne, Aboriginal Studies Press, 1997.
Eliot, TS, Four Quartets, Faber and Faber, 1942.
Ellender, Isabel, Christiansen, Peter and Faithfull, Tony (eds), People of the Merri Merri: The Wurundjeri in Colonial Days, Merri Creek Management Committee, 2001.
Fukuoka, Masanobu, The One Straw Revolution, Rodale Press, 1978.
Grahame, Kenneth, The Wind in the Willows, Methuen, 1908.
Hanley, Clifford, The History of Scotland, Hamlyn 1986
Harvey, Graham, The Forgiveness of Nature: The Story of Grass, Vintage, 2002.
Holmgren, David, Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability, Holmgren Design Services, 2002.
Jay, Antony, The Householder’s Guide to Community Defence against Bureaucratic Aggression, Random House, 1972.
Jensen, Derrick, Endgame: The Problem of Civilisation, Seven Stories Press, 2006.
Keith, K, Mackey, B. and Lindenmayer D, Re-evaluation of forest biomass carbon stocks and lessons from the world’s most carbon-dense forests. PNAS 106, 11635-11640, 2009.
Kumar, Satish, No Destination: An Autobiography, Green Books, 1992.
Le Guin, Ursula, Always Coming Home, Harper and Row, 1985.
Leunig, Michael, Introspective, The Text Publishing Company, 1991.
Macy, Joanna, Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect our Lives, Our Work, New Society Publishers, 1998.
Macy, Joanna and Seed, John, Thinking Like a Mountain: Towards A Council of All Beings, New Catalyst Books, 2007.
Massola, Aldo, Bunjil’s Cave: Myths, Legends and Superstitions of the Aborigines of South-East Australia, Lansdowne Press, 1968.
Mathews, Freya, Journey to the Source of the Merri, Ginninderra Press, 2003. and Reinhabiting Reality: Towards a Recovery of Culture, SUNY Press, 2005.
O’Donohue, John, Anam Cara: Wisdom from the Celtic World, Sounds True Audio, 1996.
Okri, Ben, Birds of Heaven, Orion, 1995.
Otto, Kristin, Yarra: A Diverting History, Text Publishing, 2009.
Prechtel, Martin, Long Life, Honey in the Heart, HarperCollins, 2002.
Pilgrim, Peace, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in her own Words, Ocean Tree Books. 1982.
Presland, Gary, The Land of the Kulin: Discovering the Lost Landscape and the First People of Port Phillip, McPhee Gribble/Penguin, 1985.
Rose, Deborah Bird, Nourishing Terrains: Australian Aboriginal Views of Landscape and Wilderness, Australian Heritage Commission, 1996.
Roy, Arundhati, The Cost of Living, Flamingo, 1999.
Swimme, Brian and Berry, Thomas, The Universe Story, Harper San Francisco, 1994.
Snyder, Gary, A Place in Space: Ethics, Aesthetics, Watersheds, Counterpoint Press, 1995.
Van der Post, Laurens, A Story like the Wind, Penguin, 1972.
Woiwod, Mick, The Last Cry, Tarcoola Press, 1997.