Broede Carmody, Shouldering Pine

Shouldering Pine is a book-length nature poem that is also a critical meditation on the pastoral. Specifically, the concept of the natural world as inherently calming or peaceful. It interweaves the anxieties of the personal and immediate with those of the collective and long-term. The book touches on general anxiety disorder, grief, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. It is written in a minimalist fashion and can be consumed in one sitting. The idea is for the reader to feel out of breath, but for the experience to be over relatively quickly, like a panic attack. Alternatively, the reader can dip in and out as though each page is an individual poem. Importantly, the speaker’s trauma is never explicitly stated: alluding to the difficulty in finding anxiety’s source and pushing back against what’s been identified as ‘trauma porn’. Human, open and wise, Shouldering Pine is unique in contemporary Australian poetry for its understated virtuosity, humour and relentless clarity.

‘Carmody’s youth gives him a fresher voice, an edgier perspective, than other more established poets while his wide-reading in literature is evident in the polyphony of influences audible behind his warmly-inflected poetic voice.’ –Alison Clifton, StylusLit

Broede Carmody is a poet from Dhudhuroa country in north-east Victoria. His first book, a collection of poems called Flat Exit, was published by Cordite Books in 2017. His poetry has also appeared in journals such as Meanjin, Cordite and Voiceworks. He is currently a journalist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. Previously, he took part in the Poet Laureates of Melbourne series (2020), was a co-judge of the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Poetry (2019), was named among the Melbourne Writers Festival’s 30 Under 30 (2017) and was a poetry editor for Voiceworks magazine (2012-2016). He is currently based in Melbourne.

Broede Carmody, Shouldering Pine  
2023. 127mm x 178mm. 96pp.
ISBN 978-1-925735-54-3
Release: February 2023

Author photo © Leah Jing McIntosh

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.