The Ocean on Fire: Pacific Stories from Nuclear Survivors and Climate Activists

The Ocean on Fire, by Anaïs Maurer, examines Pacific literature that reveals the environmental racism behind radioactive skies and rising seas. It highlights the stories of Pacific nuclear survivors who advocate mutual assistance, cultural resilience, and South-South transnational solidarities to nurture the land and each other in times of global environmental collapse.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 05 March 2024
Publisher: Duke University Press

For over fifty years, the people of the Pacific have been subjected to a man-made calamity on a scale equivalent to one Hiroshima bomb per day. Nuclear testing, which occurred long before climate change became a global issue, caused premature death, widespread diseases, forced migration, and irreparable damage to the shores of Oceania. In her book, The Ocean on Fire, Anaïs Maurer examines the Pacific literature that exposes the environmental racism behind radioactive skies and rising seas. Maurer analyzes a vast multilingual archive of decolonial Pacific art in French, Spanish, English, Tahitian, and Uvean, encompassing literature, songs, and paintings. Through this analysis, she identifies strategies of resistance that unite the region, highlighting the role of Pacific nuclear survivors in advocating for mutual assistance, cultural resilience, South-South transnational solidarities, and Indigenous womens leadership. Drawing on their experiences resisting nuclear colonialism and carbon imperialism, Pacific storytellers offer compelling narratives to nurture the land and each other in times of global environmental collapse.

Weight: 445g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478030041