by Alice Bishop
It’s important to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people, who’ve lived through so many fires before us—true owners of country we’re lucky to call home. Thanks also to all the people raising awareness about and tackling climate change: every day and in every way.
For all the refugees, everywhere—people like you and me, who’ve also lost a home, often so much more—this is also for you and the unimaginable strength you show seeking safety: despite the unethical barriers and policies in place all over the world, particularly in Australia today.
Thanks to the University of Melbourne’s Creative Writing program, especially to Emmett Stinson for overseeing a much smaller version of this collection (and for giving it hope). Thank you to Glen Pearsall, Tony Birch, Antonia Pont, and Amanda Johnston: four teachers I’ve had over the years who have shaped the course of both my life and work through their inspiring classes.
A special thank you to Fiona Wright for the initial edits, Josephine Rowe for the guidance (and copper-coloured wine). Miriam McGarry for the final read (and croissants). Thanks to all the journals these stories have appeared in along the way—especially to Meanjin editor Jonathan Green for the support.
A huge thanks to Text—working with the publisher has really been a dream come true. Thanks to Alaina Gougoulis and, especially, to my talented editor David Winter for this overall work; the collection wouldn’t have ended up almost half as good without your skilled guidance / suggestions / time. To Imogen Stubbs: thanks for the beautiful cover design.
Thanks also, so importantly, to all my inspiring friends: Mim, Moya Richardson, Daniela Ruff and Aguer Athian (love you both), Gemma and Bron, Bek, Holi-May Thomas. Thanks, Julia Alexander, Eden, Neguse, Laura, Adnan Khan, and Tess Papanikolaou too. To my brother Tom Bishop and beaut sis-in-law Han (I can’t wait to meet my niece; how lucky she is). Thanks to my grandma Gwen. Rosey and Sue too.
A special thank you to Samuel Belay Afeworki: yfetwekaye (always)—for being so endlessly strong, kind and calm. Yekenyeley too: I don’t know if I’ll ever meet anyone, again, so golden and so true.
This collection is dedicated to my shining parents: Lynne Bishop and Leon Bishop. There have been some tough times but, together, we always get through. I’ll always walk tall in this world because of you.
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Earlier versions of the following stories have been previously published: ‘Stay / Go’ in Seizure, ‘Porch Light’ in Meanjin, ‘Burning the House’ in Stilts Magazine, ‘Blue’ in Bide Magazine, ‘Aftermath’ in Lip Magazine, and ‘Flight Path’ on the Wheeler Centre website.
‘Sticks’ won the 2017 Melbourne Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Award for Short Fiction. ‘Aftermath’ placed in the 2017 Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction. ‘Clearing’ was shortlisted in the 2018 Peter Carey Short Story Award. ‘Highway’ was shortlisted in the 2018 Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction. ‘Saltwater’ was commended in the 2018 Hope Prize and published in the Simon & Schuster collection of the same year, Hope Shines.
Additionally, the collection was shortlisted in the 2018 Penguin Random House Australia Literary Prize. Its beginnings were recognised in the 2015 Victorian Premier’s Unpublished Manuscript Award, the 2015 Richell Prize, and the 2017 Kill Your Darlings Unpublished Manuscript Award.
Finally, part of the collection was completed during a Hot Desk Fellowship at the Wheeler Centre, Melbourne.
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Referenced: 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission Final Report.
Alice Bishop was born in 1986 and grew up in Christmas Hills, Victoria. Her short stories and essays have been published in Meanjin, Lip Magazine, Southerly, Visible Ink, Griffith Review, Overland, Voiceworks and more. She lives in Melbourne.
alicebishop.site
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
A Constant Hum
‘In this resonant collection, Bishop gives both scope and startling immediacy to one of Victoria’s darkest days. These are indelible lives, and A Constant Hum is an essential, intimate charting of the farthest reaches of devastation and hope.’
JOSEPHINE ROWE
‘A Constant Hum is a beautiful book—often understated, but all the more devastating for this. The stories are delicate and keenly observed, exploring the difficult territories of grief and loss, homesickness and fear, and an enduring human resilience that always comes at a cost. Bishop is an elegant and lyrical writer, and these are finely wrought and tender stories, always pulsing with empathy and a lingering hope, even in the face of extremity and great pain.’
FIONA WRIGHT
‘These kaleidoscopic visions of fire, trauma and loss twist into a closely observed chronicle of people and place—of humanity and hope. Dazzling writing, acutely attentive to simple truths.’
JONATHAN GREEN
‘A Constant Hum is a remarkable work of fiction, producing a suite of stories dealing with the fundamental human concerns of love, grief and recovery. Alice Bishop has the capacity to convey such emotions with tenderness, a lightness of touch and true craft. She is a writer of the highest quality.’
TONY BIRCH
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Copyright © Alice Bishop, 2019
The moral right of Alice Bishop to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright above, no part of this publication shall be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.
Published by The Text Publishing Company, 2019
Book design by Imogen Stubbs
Cover image by Irtsya / Shutterstock
Typeset by J&M Typesetting
ISBN: 9781925773842 (paperback)
ISBN: 9781925774603 (ebook)
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia.
