Fig

Fig trees flower within their own fruit, isn't that the ultimate form of protection? Newcastle is a regional city where people have proven again and again that they are prepared to fight for what they need to protect. From iconic figtrees to the planet, from workers rights to protecting vulnerable children and even saving oneself, sometimes that protection takes a long time coming. And sometimes it fails. In these linked stories Dael Allison explores how being prepared to fight to protect what you believe in builds a strong, resilient, rich community.

The thirteen linked, and richly faceted stories in Dael Allison's collection, Fig, begin and end on the flow of Coquun/the Hunter River. Newcastle is a city built on hypocrisy, pain, and exploitation. But Newcastle is also beautiful and authentic, with a community passionate about protecting what it values. Dael Allison unpacks this paradox skilfully, in fictional narratives based on real events. These range from local dockworkers supporting Chinese sailors who desert their ship, the obscenities committed by the Catholic clergy, the Star Hotel riot, and fallout from the 1989 earthquake, to climate change activists blockading the world's biggest coal port, and a projection of a future impacted by rising tides. The lives of the characters in Fig link on tidal currents, which rise and fall like the industry that has scaffolded this city's development, and iconic fig trees which have lined its streets. These stories are essential reading for anyone wanting to understand Newcastle, and the depth and complexity of regional place.

- David O Kelly