Spinifex Press

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The Butterfly Effect
Susan Hawthorne

1-876756-56-X

No, here there’s not a
straight line to be seen anywhere–chaos
in the shape of two vulval wings–
the butterfly effect

The butterfly effect is a concept from physics in which it is surmised that small actions can have enormous consequences, and that the flutter of a butterfly’s wing on one side of the world can cause devastating storms on the other side. Susan Hawthorne explores the impact of the love between lesbians. The butterfly effect is a force that can destroy families and bring down governments, but also a force full of vitality and world changing creativity.

She evokes the ancient worlds of pre-Vedic and Sapphic lovers, of Mediaeval jonglaresas and nuns ‘fingering petals and hips’ as well as the contemporary world of circuses and global politics.

Susan Hawthorne is a poet, novelist, performer, independent researcher and publisher. She is the author of Bird (1999), The Falling Woman (1992/2004) and Wild Politics (2002) as well as the editor of numerous anthologies of non-fiction, fiction and poetry. She has been a feminist activist for more than thirty years and has engaged in creating spaces for the development of lesbian and feminist cultural expression. She is also an aerialist and indulges in this passion for flight whenever she can. The Butterfly Effect is her second collection of poems.

REVIEWS

‘I already loved Susan Hawthorne's poetry, her critical theory works, her experimental aerials, her lesbian energy in the world. But still you could have knocked me over with a butterfly when I read this latest collection. Here she has opened up the mosaic form to all levels of lived experience with new confidence and fragility, moving in all ways to the heart of matter, the edge of experience and the breath of tomorrow. This intense new collection gathers the accelerating parts and shoots through. More love coming.’ —Suzanne Bellamy

Susan Hawthorne is an Australian lesbian feminist poet and novelist, academic, activist, prolific writer, aerial circus performer and co founder of feminist publisher Spinifex. Her doctorat
All her social justice concerns underly this beautiful book of poetry, but it concentrates mainly on the brilliant history of lesbian communities and writing despite centuries of discrimination - documenting our persecution and resistance - and all in poetry. Easy poetry to understand (important to me!) and intense, experimental, passionate, happy and sad. Its title is based on the butterfly metaphor from chaos theory and it examines how lesbians have been a force of vitality and creativity that spreads far and wide. Some poems are dedicated to her family members, her partner Renate and her dog River, and talk of their lives. As an academic, I adored half of the book being poetry with footnotes (very rare) - they can be ignored in getting the feel of the poetry, but they're a wonderful resource, acknowledging the sources of her metaphors and sending the reader to lesbian writing from many countries and periods. Every lesbian and many others should read this wonderful book.
–Prue Hyman

ISBN 187675656X
pb
Territories:World
All rights:Spinifex

women@spinifexpress.com.au