Smoke: the legacy of tobacco in rural Victoria
The tobacco plant is fragile. To kill all the things that are trying to kill it meant a rigorous regime, keeping the plant alive at an unknown cost to human and ecosystem health.
The tobacco plant is fragile. To kill all the things that are trying to kill it meant a rigorous regime, keeping the plant alive at an unknown cost to human and ecosystem health.
I can’t get to sleep. Anne Carson is in my head.
My mother discovered me having sex with my best friend who was the same sex as me when I was seventeen. I remember how she looked at me with horror and righteousness, knowing and believing I would go to hell. She said to me in a serious tone that I should think about ending my life. Suicide was the answer for such shame.
Artwork for this edition by political cartoonist Tia Kass.
I drive the ATV south from the hotel to Jackie O’ Beach Club. Kosta is on the back with one arm around my waist and the other gripping his phone, filming for Instagram. I tell him to put his phone away a lot but this time I get it. I park suddenly.