Author(s): Caitlin Maling

Poetry

Written out of distinctively Western Australian settings, Spore or Seed is a narrative of pregnancy, birth and the early years of motherhood.Spore or Seed is a beautifully written and deeply moving exploration of the loss of self and the discovery of a new, expanded self. It traces themes of pregnancy, birth and childrearing against the backdrop of environmental threat, addressing the intersections of environmental care and caretaking. What does it mean to become a parent in a time of climate crisis? How do we decide whether or not to have children in a time of constant uncertainty amplified by the pandemic years? And how does motherhood change us? These are the questions that Spore or Seed raises and uses all the tools of poetry to explore.