She is the Earth by Ali Cobby Eckermann
“as thought subdues
keys appear in my eyes
admission is an opera
the crescendo of breath
is flight and I am away”
Yankunytjatjara woman Ali Cobby Eckermann’s Stella Prize long-listed verse novel is quite simply divine. She is the Earth (2023, Magabala Books) could be read as the journey of a single individual, a devotion to Mother Nature, or the story of the Country – and in equal measure, it can be read as all three and more. Described as a “private manifesto of Eckermann’s deep spiritual thoughts,” each carefully placed verse thrums with life.
Presented as a long-form poem, this 91-page journey explores our natural environment from the ground to the sky and back again. Told in mostly two-line stanzas, the poetic form is minimalist but filled with rich imagery that evokes the senses. It’s one of those rare books that you can sit and devour in an hour but will find yourself repeatedly picking up again in the weeks that follow to reread passages or hunt down an evocative phrase that you can’t get out of your head:
“I trace my finger
join with nature
haematite
blood words
I play a prank
leave a mystery here”
Birth (or awakenings), death and grief are central themes. Eckermann centres us at first into a sense of being torn into something, pulled into aliveness and everything this might mean:
“exhausted I am
unable to breathe
I scratch for air
my mouth a cave”
As we venture further into the verse, we’re taken by the hand and guided to view everything around us, every sensation with sensory clarity. This journey is sometimes repetitive, with thoughts running together, ruminating, and it has an almost anxious quality. In others, it is rich, clear and directive:
“I remove my tongue
plant it in the ground
savour the blood
muteness is a gift
it is wise to wait
relearn to speak”
Another strong theme is mothers, children, motherhood, and the (dis)connection this relationship often brings. For Eckermann, the disconnection was not one of choice for her or her mother. Part of the Stolen Generation, she experienced ongoing racism and abuse throughout her life and was forced to place her own son up for adoption. It was not until her thirties that she was able to reconnect with her birth mother and find her Aboriginal kin, and be reunited with her son. Understanding these lived experiences enriches the reading of She is the Earth in a raw and intense way far removed from Western concepts and exploration of motherhood.
Symbolism is also firmly present in the form of the sun, the mood, and birds – to mention only a few:
“the bird appears
larger in size
am I nearing
is it growing
the question remains
without resentment
without understanding
perception is fraught”
Throughout the verse, Eckermann takes us from raw and fractured to a somewhat state of calm, but the journey is anything but linear – as true to real life as it can be.
In his incredible review of She is the Earth for The Conversation, Aidan Coleman puts this better than I ever could: “hope is present from the earliest sections and trauma haunts the closing pages. Healing is presented as an ongoing process that is projected beyond the poem.”
(I highly encourage you to read Coleman’s complete review for a beautiful analysis and overview of Eckermann, her work, and her life to date.)
This is the first of Eckermann’s works I have read, and it has only left me hungry for more. She is the Earth is an extraordinary reading experience that only improves with each subsequent read. Its cyclical nature lends itself to many reads, and I can already tell it will have that rare quality of being one of the few I turn to in times of indecision, languishing, or loss – as well as joy and hope.
Elaine Chennatt is a writer, educator and psychology student currently residing in nipaluna. She has a special interest in bibliotherapy (how we use literature to make sense of our lives) and is endlessly curious about the creative philosophies of others. She lives with her husband and two bossy dachshunds on the not-so-sunny side of the river (IYKYK). Find her online at wordswithelaine.com.
