03 | Inch by Inch

Clare and Yves are joined by Tony Birch, Melbourne-based historian, novelist, poet and public intellectual trained in indigenous history.

Episode 3 of the Archive Fever podcast, hosted by Claire Wright and Yves Rees, titled "03 | Inch by Inch" was published on September 15, 2019 and runs 25 minutes.

September 15, 2019 ·25m · Archive Fever

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Summary

Clare and Yves are joined by Tony Birch, Melbourne-based historian, novelist, poet and public intellectual trained in indigenous history. Is archival research always a fact-finding mission—or can it be a form of call and response? Reflecting on his journey from academic historian to award-winning fiction writer, Tony explains how he answers back to the colonial archive and uses language to take back country. The group also discusses the History Wars of the early 2000s, hear Tony recite his poem “Archive Box,” and learn about the contraband he’s got stashed at home.

Episode Description

Clare and Yves are joined by author Chloe Hooper, whose latest book The Arsonist (2018) weaves together the story of the Black Saturday Fires out of the threads of a living archive. Can the landscape and its scars reveal a true history? The group discusses paper trails in the legal system, the question of trust, and engaging in the physical archive of landscape.