On Wednesday, March 19, Kirli Saunders OAM launched her latest poetry anthology, Eclipse, at Ryan's Hotel Thirroul.
The multi-talented, proud Gunai woman was in conversation with her “precious friend”, poet and former Red Room Poetry artistic director Dr Tamryn Bennett, who observed that Eclipse “holds both shadow and light".
"It's this fleeting transition that Kirli captures so incredibly well," Tamryn said. "This moment of alignment and pause before a transformation.”
For Kirli, Eclipse is a work of modern references steeped in the ever-surviving culture of First Nations peoples.
“This work moves through land and sea and sky. It's divided in that way on purpose to try and bring people constantly back to country,” she said.
“There’s pop culture references mixed in with this very real grief and joy and ablation and my connection back to country constantly.”
Eclipse has three sections – Terrain, The Depths and Constellations.
Tamryn said: “It's not just poetic divisions, but invitations to walk with reverence on this country, to wade into waters of grief and renewal, and to look upwards to find our place in this incredible earth.
“It’s a love letter to people and place... to ancestors and to becoming. And it's equal parts tender and urgent. And it's a reminder that we're never truly alone. Our stories live in the wind.”
Series of successes
The launch of Eclipse comes after a series of successes in Kirli’s arts career. Her other books – The Incredible Freedom Machines (2018), Kindred (2019), Bindi (2020), Our Dreaming (2022), Returning (2023) and Afloat (2024) – accompanied Eclipse on the display table. In February, her MerrigongX show, Yandha Djanbay (Go Slowly), launched the MerrigongX season at IPAC and it will be performed again in 2026.
After reading three poems from Eclipse at the launch, Kirli thanked the community for supporting her work.
“So much of this book was written at Finbox," she said.
“Go and read all of the crew’s names in the thank you section and just smile and then order a coffee for them when you see them.”
Kirli also thanked the event organisers, Deb Thompson and Amanda Isler, co-owners of Collins Booksellers Thirroul, for supporting local writers.
“Every time we call you, you rock up and you're just so full of joy and love. Thank you,” Kirli said.
Songs from the book
Mark Chester Harding then joined Kirli to perform songs from their Cooee project.
Kirli said: "Mark is a songwriter, a session musician, a visual artist with a strong presence in the Australian indie music scene … I feel so lucky to work with him. He’s one half of Cooee.”
The pair performed a song based on page 61 of Eclipse, which they now call “the middle way” .... The lyrics included: “Between the earth and sky we swim. We swim the middle way. Recall us to the friends. We are one and the same.”
They also performed a song from Kindred, a poem about daisies.
Kirli said: “It’s about coming back to country and giving into it and just burying yourself in the earth and becoming one with her.”
Praise for new poems
Collins co-owner Deb described Eclipse as "outstanding".
"Whether you are reading it silently on the page or listening to her recite, the rhythmic cadence brings life to her words. Her poems remain simple yet profound, sometimes joyous, but always reflective, thought-provoking and a pleasure for the reader," Deb said.
“At the launch, the poems were sung to the beautiful harmonies of Kirli and Mark Harding, the words gently rising, dissolving and lingering. Watch out for the release of their album, Cooee, later this year,
“Thanks also to fellow poet Tamryn Bennett for guiding the conversation and enabling a beautiful book launch. Kirli is such a talent and we eagerly await whatever will be next!”