Renee’s debut poetry collection ‘The Sky Runs Right Through Us’ (UWA Publishing) was launched in Fremantle on Saturday 17th February 2018, on a beautiful afternoon in the gardens of St Pauls, Beaconsfield. In 2019, The Sky Runs Right Through Us won the Greg Crombie ‘Work of the Year’ in the Humanities Research Awards, as well as winning the WA Premier’s Literary Award for an Emerging Writer.
It has been reviewed and widely praised in a number of publications:
Robert Wood, The Westerley
“The Sky Runs Right Through Us is a volume that stills us, that helps us see where we are now, reminding us of what is possible when we are open to the ocean, the sky and the world.”
Jessica Abramovic, Text Journal
“This book – political journalism as much as it is poetry – offers more of an insight into the true damage of the Australian government’s detention policies than any media article I have read; and this, combined with Pettitt-Schipp’s ability to humanise every person she comes into contact with on the Islands, rendered me speechless.”
Amy Lin, Australian Book Review
“Pettitt-Schipp displays a profound empathy and sensitivity to asylum seekers and an awareness of privilege, ironising the way we thinly converse about the fate of boats, and unearthing the gravity that lies behind ordinary words.”
Alison Clifton, StylusLit
“[This collection] is a powerful affirmation of the strength of the lone voice and its potential to effect change in the world – social, political, or personal. The Sky Runs Right through Us speaks insistently of the now even as it reminds us to focus on the future to which we aspire. This is consummately-written, vital, and urgent poetry.”
Simone King, Right Now
“Reneé Pettitt-Schipp’s debut book of poetry The Sky Runs Right Through Us begins with a quote from beloved environmental activist, author and scholar Joanna Macy: “The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe.” These words are a fitting touchstone for a collection that speaks to the importance of cultivating compassion in both political and personal domains and which reveals the poet’s careful attentiveness to the natural world and its creatures.”