Finally, I could sit down 'relaxed' and enjoy your wonderful story, Kate! You're a fiction natural :)
I loved your imagining so much. And the poetic voice of the currawong was brilliant. Currawongs singing their morning song as I lay in my cot is my earliest memory (I wrote about it in one of my early posts here, too). They're my bird. Everything about them is special to me, so it's a joy to see you write about them. I'm glad they'll be thriving on that little southern island in 2170 :)
Australia does have an abundance of songbirds, which is fascinating. I always took it for granted until a tourist once mentioned many years ago how enjoyably noisy our birds were. They really do love a chat.
Hi Alia, thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment. I had fun experimenting and learning about the fictional short story, can’t wait to try some more.
That’s a beautiful first memory - listening to currawongs singing in the morning from your cot. It’s always the first sound I notice in the bush here, a kind of home coming for me. And I love their curious yellow eyes, the way they tilt their heads in contemplation of you. Humans, always well below their domain.
We are recovering from our bout of the flu, I’m hoping we will have a clean run now illness wise for the term.
What a story, Kate! I adore this. I especially love the voice of it, and both the urgent flow of the language and the slight disconnect created by the lack of punctuation, reminding us it is a nonhuman voice speaking. Such a brilliant piece!!!
Fantastic work, Kate! Truly enthralled by the writing in this. I think it felt like the birds POV and had great rhythm. It was musical. So many good passages.
Nick, I’m so glad you enjoyed my story. Thank you for your kind thoughts. I’m looking forward to reading all the stories on this collaboration tonight with a cup of tea. So many great entries!
Dear Kate, this is a marvellous story. I lived the first person and the characterisation of the currawong. As a mob and family but with so much inner life and individuality too. That self-wondering was so beautifully infused in this story. The world of sound is fascinating and I did not only dwell in your artistic imagination but also was absorbed by the body of research you brought to life. I will come back to this story many times, I am sure.
Thank you dear Alicia for your thoughts on my short story. It was fun to experiment with the first person of a bird, and as you mentioned I think I will come back to my story sparks and research one day and see where its takes me. I’m looking forward to reading all the other entries to ten future of nature prompt very soon too. Take care, Kate
Thanks Thomas! Your book sounds fabulous, looking forward to reading your epic bird poem. My story was just a beginning, perhaps I will find more time and inspiration and go back to it some day. ☺️
I loved this story, Kate! What a wonderful, poetic voice you gave to your bird protagonist. It’s human and yet not. Very well done. I was also impressed with the thorough research you did for your story. I know about the birds of Australia and New Zealand from a book by Adam Douglas called last chance to see. My husband was so moved by my interest in the kakapo, he once once made a donation for them as a birthday present. I was happy to read that they’re growing in numbers in comparison to the 1980s.
Finally, I could sit down 'relaxed' and enjoy your wonderful story, Kate! You're a fiction natural :)
I loved your imagining so much. And the poetic voice of the currawong was brilliant. Currawongs singing their morning song as I lay in my cot is my earliest memory (I wrote about it in one of my early posts here, too). They're my bird. Everything about them is special to me, so it's a joy to see you write about them. I'm glad they'll be thriving on that little southern island in 2170 :)
Australia does have an abundance of songbirds, which is fascinating. I always took it for granted until a tourist once mentioned many years ago how enjoyably noisy our birds were. They really do love a chat.
Hi Alia, thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment. I had fun experimenting and learning about the fictional short story, can’t wait to try some more.
That’s a beautiful first memory - listening to currawongs singing in the morning from your cot. It’s always the first sound I notice in the bush here, a kind of home coming for me. And I love their curious yellow eyes, the way they tilt their heads in contemplation of you. Humans, always well below their domain.
We are recovering from our bout of the flu, I’m hoping we will have a clean run now illness wise for the term.
Wishing you well,
Kate :)
What a story, Kate! I adore this. I especially love the voice of it, and both the urgent flow of the language and the slight disconnect created by the lack of punctuation, reminding us it is a nonhuman voice speaking. Such a brilliant piece!!!
Thanks Rebecca, for your lovely comments here and for reading. It was a super fun project to be part of :)
I looked up a video of currawongs singing because I had a feeling that the voice in this story would be reminiscent. Yep! Good work, Kate.
Thanks Joseph for reading and for looking up the Kar- week kar-week of currawongs 🙏
fantastic.
totally took me to that island and created that bird entity and its strange self.
really nice work. almost... spiritual
Thanks Nick for your kind thoughts , I like to think of Tasmania as an Island refuge in the future.
i dont think the UK has got the same chances of that... although it could be a bit warmer...
It has something to do with the movements of the vast Southern I think, still sinks a lot of carbon and is very cold. We must look after it :)
Loved the language/voice in this. And that ending 😅
Thank you Susan, glad you liked the ending ☺️
Fantastic work, Kate! Truly enthralled by the writing in this. I think it felt like the birds POV and had great rhythm. It was musical. So many good passages.
Nick, I’m so glad you enjoyed my story. Thank you for your kind thoughts. I’m looking forward to reading all the stories on this collaboration tonight with a cup of tea. So many great entries!
Lovely, Kate! Both the story and the description of where it came from.
Thank you Shoni and I’m grateful you read through to the story sparks ☺️
Loved this - the voice, especially. Such an inventive way to evoke a non-human perspective.
Thank you Stephanie, for your kind thoughts and for stopping by here to read. This story was fun to experiment with a first person bird perspective 🦅
Dear Kate, this is a marvellous story. I lived the first person and the characterisation of the currawong. As a mob and family but with so much inner life and individuality too. That self-wondering was so beautifully infused in this story. The world of sound is fascinating and I did not only dwell in your artistic imagination but also was absorbed by the body of research you brought to life. I will come back to this story many times, I am sure.
Thank you dear Alicia for your thoughts on my short story. It was fun to experiment with the first person of a bird, and as you mentioned I think I will come back to my story sparks and research one day and see where its takes me. I’m looking forward to reading all the other entries to ten future of nature prompt very soon too. Take care, Kate
This is terrific. In case you’re interested, my recent novel The Book of Rain features an epic poem told to a human by a bird.
Thanks Thomas! Your book sounds fabulous, looking forward to reading your epic bird poem. My story was just a beginning, perhaps I will find more time and inspiration and go back to it some day. ☺️
I loved this story, Kate! What a wonderful, poetic voice you gave to your bird protagonist. It’s human and yet not. Very well done. I was also impressed with the thorough research you did for your story. I know about the birds of Australia and New Zealand from a book by Adam Douglas called last chance to see. My husband was so moved by my interest in the kakapo, he once once made a donation for them as a birthday present. I was happy to read that they’re growing in numbers in comparison to the 1980s.