As dead as

The misrepresentations of the Mauritian dodo

Featured in

  • Published 20231107
  • ISBN: 978-1-922212-89-4
  • Extent: 208pp
  • Paperback, ePub, PDF, Kindle compatible

A COUPLE OF years ago a friend recommended that I listen to ‘Strange Fowle’, an episode of Marc Fennell’s podcast Stuff the British Stole. One evening, after fumbling with my earphones and my app, I got the podcast going while I trudged down the main road near my house. A few minutes in, I began to cry.

Podcasts are often moving. I listened to Serial and Believe with my heart in my throat. The cruelties of The Teacher’s Pet, Dirty John and Sweet Bobby often came with the force of a physical blow. But I was blindsided by my strong emotional reaction to ‘Strange Fowle’. Despite the weighty topic of the series – colonisation and British imperialism – I had not expected it.

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

If you are an educator or student wishing to access content for study purposes please contact us at griffithreview@griffith.edu.au

Share article

More from author

Speaking my language

Non-fictionMY AUNTIE HAS stopped speaking to her siblings. Rifts like these are commonplace in my family, where people fall out with each other like...

More from this edition

Talking to turtles 

Non-fictionEighteen years ago, I moved to a seaside village on Cape Cod on the north-eastern shore of the United States. Finding the ocean there too dangerous, I swam in ponds. I waded through mud the consistency of yoghurt ever on the lookout for fifty- and sixty-pound snapping turtles. I dove in, swam and got out as fast as possible.

Anemone

Poetry Lady, in this heavy light  you show tender: waving your insides  outside, buffeted by the sea’s  old heave ho. Nobody calls out medusa – but there’s a distinct...

Smoking hot bodies

Non-fictionSince 2013, South Korea has mandated the use of compost bins for uneaten food and the country now recycles an estimated 95 per cent of its food waste. Similar schemes exist in Europe and North America, and in June, Nevada became the seventh American state – after Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, California and New York – to legalise human composting. Known as ‘terramation’ or ‘natural organic reduction’, the process entails a certified undertaker placing the cadaver beneath woodchips, lucerne and straw in a reusable box, where, with the controlled addition of heat and oxygen, it decomposes within eight weeks.

Stay up to date with the latest, news, articles and special offers from Griffith Review.