Gregory O'Brien Always Song in the Water

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Always song in the water is a book of encounters, not only with the remote north of Aotearoa/New Zealand and the oceanic reality beyond there, but also with the artistic/imaginative life of the antipodes. With creative spirits such as Laurence Aberhart, Noel McKenna, Janet Frame, Ralph Hotere, Robin White, John Pule, Euan Macleod and Fiona Hall as touchstones, O'Brien’s book negotiates a course through some under-explored territories of the South Pacific imagination.

The book begins with a road-trip through Northland (in the company of Sydney artist Noel McKenna) before the author strikes out to Raoul Island on the HMNZS Otago—a few days at sea which leads to some months of travelling the Pacific, from Chile to New Caledonia and back. With his involvement in the Kermadec Art Project as a starting point, O'Brien reflects on the terrestrial and oceanic realities that define those who live in this part of the world. Profusely illustrated with work by many of his fellow-travellers, Always song in the water is a high-spirited, personal account of being alive in this part of the world. 'This is my field notebook, my voyaging logbook,' Gregory O'Brien writes, 'this is my Schubert played on a barrel organ, my whale survey, my songbook.'