Killernova - Poetry, Art & Performance - Omar Musa at Asia Bookroom

Killernova

A collection of poetry and wood cuts that burns blindingly bright.

The island of Borneo was once the most heavily wooded in the world, and its people have always carved wood beautifully. In KILLERNOVA, grappling with his heritage, Omar Musa remixes this ancient art form with fiery poetry forged in the stars. With equal parts swagger, humour and vulnerability, Musa charts a journey through the colonial history of South-East Asia, environmental destruction, oceans, bushfires, race in Australia, the isolation and addiction of COVID lockdown, family, lost love and, ultimately, recovery. Relentlessly on beat, visually captivating and deceptively intimate, this is a collection of words and art that burns blindingly bright.

Author, poet, rapper and visual artist Omar Musa was longlisted in 2015 for the Miles Franklin, testament to his literary craft, which he blends with his hip-hop background. He was the winner of the Australian Poetry Slam in 2008. His poems are inventive and sharp, but never unapproachable.

* The four-colour prints of Omar's woodcarvings make this book a beautiful, desirable object - uniquely textural, by turns sensitive and cheeky. A perfect gift for Christmas - especially signed!
* Omar tackles COVID lockdown, racism, bushfires, addiction and heartbreak, one of the most compelling motifs here is Omar grappling with his family history in Borneo - he offers an intimate look at a landscape and a culture more or less on our doorstep, but so often overlooked.

Bookings essential. Please book early!

This is the first event Asia Bookroom has held since the outbreak of the pandemic. Due to COVID restrictions we can only accomodate a limited number of people so please phone, email or come in to the shop to make an early booking.

We require everyone attending to scan the ACT COVID QR for Asia Bookroom on entry. If you don't have a phone with the app on it we will have a staff member available to help you. Please be sure to arrive 5 - 10 minutes early to be sure of getting to your seat on time.

In an effort to be as COVID safe as possible we will not be offering our usual refreshments after the event but hope you will stay on afterwards to have a copy of Killernova signed.

Thank you so much for your understanding and help while we negotiate these changed times!