Australian Flood Relief Project

I learned yesterday via NewPages that Australian Graham Nunn, prominent in Brisbane's poetry community, is using his most recent collection, Ocean Hearted, to raise funds for flood relief. Central and Southeast Queensland are among the communities hardest-hit by the catastrophic flooding that has occurred since late December. Three-fourths of the state has been declared a disaster zone.

Nunn, who has dubbed his effort "Ocean Hearted Flood Relief Project", has pledged to donate 100 percent of all sales of his book through January 26 (he began the project on the 12th) to Queensland Flood Relief Appeal, which as of January 16 had raised more than AUD$84 million. In addition, Nunn will donate an extra AUD$5.00 for every book sold. 

Copies of Ocean Hearted (Another Lost Shark Publication, 2010) are AUD$15 (including postage) and may be ordered directly from the poet (e-mail: geenunn@yahoo.com.au and enter in the subject line "Ocean Hearted Flood Relief Project") via paypal or by check or money order.

The title poem from his collection may be read here. Below is a short film for Nunn's poem "White Crane". Graham's poem "On Seeing My Father Kill a Goat" is recorded at WhaleSound.

Since announcing his project, Nunn has been joined by other writers and publishers, including Page Seventeen, which is donating to flood relief all sales proceeds from direct orders; Brisbane author and publisher David Reiter, who is offering copies of his children's book Global Cooling for AUD$10, with all proceeds going to ABC's flood crisis fund; and the Australian publisher Fablecroft, which is donating all proceeds from sales of its limited edition e-book After the Rain, After the Floods.

Follow Nunn's progress at Another Lost Shark and on Twitter.

Note: Nunn's Ocean Hearted is listed at Goodreads. His A Zen Firecracker: Selected Haiku (Impressed Publishing, 2004) is available via Amazon in the United States.