{"id":1340,"date":"2023-04-28T15:51:46","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T15:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/?page_id=1340"},"modified":"2025-02-28T03:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T03:01:10","slug":"the-swan-book-2013-by-alexis-wright","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/the-swan-book-2013-by-alexis-wright\/","title":{"rendered":"<em> The Swan Book <\/em> (2013) by Alexis Wright"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Content Warning: This book contains content pertaining to sexual assault and violence that may not be fit for certain audiences.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Swan Book <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is a climate fiction (cli-fi) novel following a young aboriginal girl named Oblivia as she navigates Australia after life- and land-altering extreme climate changes. The novel explores how climate change in combination with governmental power can affect an entire nation socially and ecologically. This story acknowledges indigenous people\u2019s relationship with the Earth and their ability to have a symbiotic relationship with nature.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Alexis Wright is a member of the Waanyi Nation, author and land rights activist. She has written several short stories and novels, all of which present indigenous perspectives that often deal with the rights of people and treatment of land. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Swan Book<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> was shortlisted for the 2014 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Victorian Premier&#8217;s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The book won the 2014 ALS Gold Medal, which is an annual award from the Association for the Study of Australian Literature (ASAL), and the 2016 Kate Challis RAKA Award for Aboriginal Literature, which is awarded once every five years.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_1342\" style=\"width: 424px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1342\" class=\"wp-image-1342\" src=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2023\/04\/A1qAQSpUabL._AC_UF10001000_QL80_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"414\" height=\"633\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2023\/04\/A1qAQSpUabL._AC_UF10001000_QL80_.jpg 654w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2023\/04\/A1qAQSpUabL._AC_UF10001000_QL80_-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2023\/04\/A1qAQSpUabL._AC_UF10001000_QL80_-624x954.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 414px) 100vw, 414px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1342\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Published by Giramondo Publishing (2013).<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><strong>How does it relate to climate?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The book is set in a future Australia that has been forever altered as a result of climate change. The main character, Oblivia, lives in a world that is experiencing devastating floods. As a result, much of Australia has developed into swamp land, occupied by swans.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The fairytale style of telling this story provides rich insights into the grim realities faced by many indigenous people, while also presenting environmental impacts resulting from climate change in a dramatized and entertaining way. The swans help lead and direct Oblivia throughout the story, which illustrates and recognizes the relationship between the natural world and indigenous people.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The story demonstrates how we can think about climate change in relation to indigenous peoples\u2019 view of nature, and encourages conversations surrounding the effects of climate change on indigenous communities. Alexis Wright writes that indigenous people\u2019s worldview \u201cties us with the land and the environment through stories and Aboriginal law\u201d (i.e., indigenous culture and beliefs), and her novel <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Swan Book<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> serves as a perfect example.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>References and additional resources:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cAlexis Wright.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Giramondo Publishing<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 9 Nov. 2021. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/giramondopublishing.com\/authors\/alexis-wright\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/giramondopublishing.com\/authors\/alexis-wright\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Azam, M. \u201cAlexis Wright: &#8216;It Was like Writing a Story to the Ancestors&#8217;.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Guardian<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Guardian News and Media<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 25 May 2014. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/australia-culture-blog\/2014\/may\/25\/alexis-wright-it-was-like-writing-a-story-to-the-ancestors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/australia-culture-blog\/2014\/may\/25\/alexis-wright-it-was-like-writing-a-story-to-the-ancestors<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shivadas, P. \u201cAlexis Wright&#8217;s The Swan Book: Narrating Climate Change and Animist Realism.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Performance of the Real, PubPub.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 19 May 2021. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/performancereal.pubpub.org\/pub\/lasxlegl\/release\/5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/performancereal.pubpub.org\/pub\/lasxlegl\/release\/5<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe Swan Book.\u201d Goodreads. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/18247932-the-swan-book\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/18247932-the-swan-book<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0Gleeson-White, J. \u201cThe Swan Book: Alexis Wright: Review.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sydney Review of Books<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 11 Feb. 2020. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sydneyreviewofbooks.com\/review\/going-viral\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/sydneyreviewofbooks.com\/review\/going-viral\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wright, A. \u201cThe Swan Book.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Giramondo Publishing<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 2013.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How to cite this page<\/h3>\n<p><em>The Swan Book (2013) by Alexis Wright<\/em>. (2024, June 10). Climate in Global Cultures and Histories: Promoting Climate Literacy Across Disciplines. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/the-swan-book-2013-by-alexis-wright\/\">https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/the-swan-book-2013-by-alexis-wright\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Content Warning: This book contains content pertaining to sexual assault and violence that may not be fit for certain audiences. The Swan Book is a climate fiction (cli-fi) novel following [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":308,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1340","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Swan Book  (2013) by Alexis Wright - Climate in Arts and History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/the-swan-book-2013-by-alexis-wright\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Swan Book  (2013) by Alexis Wright - Climate in Arts and History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Content Warning: This book contains content pertaining to sexual assault and violence that may not be fit for certain audiences. 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