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Tony Birch Is Going To Die
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TONY BIRCH IS GOING TO DIE
The brilliant writer and academic Dr Tony Birch was born in inner-city Melbourne, into a large family of Aboriginal, West Indian and Irish descent. An altar boy and exceptional student at his local Catholic primary school, in adolescence, Birch went 'off the rails' as a teenager. He was expelled from two high schools for fighting and found trouble with the police for the same reason. Although somewhat adrift following his expulsions, he remained a voracious reader – once, when he was arrested by police, all they found when they patted him down was a copy of Camus’ The Outsider, which remains his favourite book.
Birch has written a great deal about death and grief, most recently in his 2021 short story collection Dark As Last Night, where he interrogates the death of his brother Wayne. Here, he reads from the collection whilst musing on his own legacy and eventual funeral plans.
Birch has been publishing short stories and poetry regularly since the 1980s, although his first collection, Shadowboxing, only appeared in 2006. Since this, he has published four more collections of short stories and poetry (Father's Day [2009], The Promise [2014], Broken Teeth [2016], and Common People [2017] and two novels (Blood [2011] and Ghost River [2015]).
Among his awards are the Scanlon Prize and the Prize for Indigenous Writing (Victorian Premier's Literary Awards). He has also been shortlisted for the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction (NSW Premier's Literary Awards), the Steele Rudd Award (with both the original Queensland Premier's Literary Awards and the later Queensland Literary Awards), and the Miles Franklin Literary Award.
In 2015, he joined Victoria University as the first recipient of its Dr Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research Fellowship. His role sits within the Moondani Balluk Academic Unit and is linked to the University’s creative arts and writing programs. He has also taught creative writing at the University of Melbourne for many years.
In 2022, he was appointed as the third Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at the University of Melbourne, following Richard Flanagan and Alexis Wright.
Tony Birch (IG @Tony_Birch_)
Marieke Hardy Is Going To Die is a podcast made by Marieke Hardy (IG @marieke_hardy).
You can follow at IG @GoingToDiePod
Music by Lord Fascinator (IG @lordfascinator)
Produced by Darren Scarce (IG @Dazz26)
Video edits by Andy Nedelkovski (IG @AndyNeds)
Artwork by Lauren Egan (IG @heylaurenegan)
Photography by Eamon Leggett (IG @anxietyoptions)
With thanks to Amelia Chappelow (IG @ameliachappelow)
Camilla McKewen (IG @CamillaLucyLucy)
and Rhys Graham (IG @RhysJGraham)
Support the show via www.patreon.com/mariekehardy and drop an email to mariekehardyisgoingtodie@gmail.com
Whilst acknowledging the privilege that comes with having the space to discuss death and mortality, we want to also recognise that discussing these topics can raise some wounds. Should you wish to seek extra support, please consider the following resources:
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/online-grief-support-groups
https://www.grief.org.au/ga/ga/Support/Support_Groups.aspx
https://www.headspace.com/meditation/grief
https://www.mindful.org/a-10-minute-guided-meditation-for-working-with-grief/
https://griefline.org.au/get-help/
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