I’D like to briefly hold your attention in this short period before marriage equality is legislated in Australia, because nobody will ever give a second thought to the years of struggle that led to this week’s resounding public vote for same-sex dignity. The concept of marriage equality first hit me like a bullet in 2004, […]
I am my first book: @burgewords reports from #bwf16
September 10, 2016
We were inside the building. We belonged, inasmuch as new students belong in new classrooms when they change schools UNDER the general theme of ‘belonging’, the 2016 Brisbane Writer’s Festival (BWF) set itself up with few boundaries, and writers have been rushing to traverse the intentionally unfenced territory across the city. As an independently published author, I […]
Divorced from reality: @burgewords comments on the Coalition’s #MarriageEquality problem
July 22, 2016
The Coalition will just have to take care of itself, because the political wedge has finally hit its target. AFTER the Coalition’s narrow win, the plebiscite on Marriage Equality should be getting ready to kick off, yet the same election promise has been blamed for the major swing against Malcolm Turnbull. And the paradox has […]
Keeping #MarriageEquality off the record: @burgewords comments on #NeverMarried
January 23, 2016
It felt like a cold label for what was a beautiful love affair. WHEN the South Australian government was caught out by the world’s media for its lax approach to recognising overseas same-sex marriages on death certificates, the justifiable outrage about Marco Bulmer-Rizzi being documented as “never married” to husband David resonated with many readers. One small voice of […]
#Homophobia for the holidays: @burgewords on creating #LGBT characters
December 21, 2015
It would surprise most people to see what a strong thread of prejudice runs through families. Spending time with family over Christmas and New Year can be a challenge for anyone, but journalist and author Michael Burge explains how his first collection of short stories grew in the fertile ground of familial homophobia. WHEN I began […]
Two books, one story: @burgewords reviews @RodneyCroome on #MarriageEquality
October 20, 2015
IN every writer’s life there comes a time when a piece written by someone else renders our own contribution unnecessary. After exploring the issue of marriage equality in my country for more than a decade, Rodney Croome’s new book has finally done this for me. From This Day Forward: Marriage Equality in Australia is an […]
#QuestionableDeeds in action: @burgewords in conversation with @margokingston1
September 26, 2015
WHEN I asked Margo to help me launch my non-fiction debut Questionable Deeds: Making a stand for equal love and my first collection of short stories Closet His, Closet Hers, Tony Abbott was still Prime Minister and marriage equality remained on the never never. When we met this week at Avid Reader bookshop in West End, Brisbane, […]
The making of a #MarriageEquality advocate: @burgewords extract
May 29, 2015
IRELAND’S yes vote for marriage equality kicked a rainbow-coloured goal for LGBTQI people around the globe, and while the major Australian political parties fight for ownership of the ball, this extract from an upcoming non-fiction podcast and book by MICHAEL BURGE is a reminder of how far we’ve come. Marriage, like a seed, was planted within me […]
Margo’s live twitter report from #leardblockade Day 8 and 9
January 24, 2014
Storify by The Geek Fri, Jan 24 2014 02:53:20 Margo’s live twitter report from #leardblockade Day 8 and 9 Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email No Fibs@NoFibs Get tough on environmental extremists: miners’ case against #leardblockade: Like to respond? http://nofibs.com.au/2014/01/22/miners-case-leardblockade-anyone-like-respond/#sthash.BtM9BBnj.dpuf … #auspol […]
Long live The Yartz! @burgewords column
November 24, 2013
When Margo Kingston asked me to consider writing a regular arts column for No Fibs, I thought she was pulling my leg, simply because art and politics didn’t seem like a natural blend. Aren’t artists a government’s greatest nightmare, grudgingly budgeted-for, the black sheep’s back on which Australia’s great nation couldn’t possibly be built? The […]
