Stories for Survival: Eiren Caffall, ALL THE WATER IN THE WORD and Ishion Hutchinson, FUGITIVE TILTS

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Episode Summary

Today’s episode brings together two extraordinary voices in literature—each grappling with the legacies of crisis, survival, and identity.

First, we speak with Eiren Caffall about her novel, All the Water in the World, a haunting, hope-filled work of climate fiction set in a post-collapse New York.

“I wanted to write something where I could imagine a future where all of the worst case scenarios had come to pass… and think through on the page whether I believed there was hope.” -Eiren Cafall

Then we turn to poet and essayist Ishion Hutchinson, whose latest collection Fugitive Tilts is a lyrical exploration of history, home, and poetic purpose.

“Poetry is confrontation and celebration. It’s how we stay rooted in a world that wants to erase us.”- Ishion Hutchinson

From cli-fi to cultural memory, this episode is about what we preserve, what we resist, and how art keeps us rooted through it all.

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Key Words: Eiren Caffall All the Water in the World, Ishion Hutchinson Fugitive Tilts, Climate fiction, cli-fi, Caribbean, colonial history, poetry,
Rastafarianism, Jamaican music, Post-apocalyptic fiction with hope

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Segment One: Eiren Caffall on All the Water in the World

We’re joined by author and musician Eiren Caffall, whose speculative novel All the Water in the World imagines life after climate collapse in a flooded, fractured New York. Drawing inspiration from her experience as a science journalist and a daughter of an EPA scientist, Caffall offers a vision of hope forged through care, science, and ethical complexity.

Key Topics

• Climate collapse and hypercanes
• Race and community in post-apocalyptic fiction
• Science fiction as social critique
• Utopias, dystopias, and the power of collective care

Listen to an audio sample from All The Water In The World

Segment 2: Ishion Hutchinson on Fugitive Tilts

Acclaimed poet Ishion Hutchinson shares insights into his latest essay collection Fugitive Tilts. Born in Jamaica and now living in the U.S., Hutchinson reflects on the weight of Caribbean colonial history, the joy and resistance of reggae music, and the poetic legacy of his grandmother. His work traces beauty through rupture and asks: what does poetry offer in a world that wants to forget?

Key Topics

• Caribbean colonial and postcolonial history
• Rastafarianism and Jamaican music
• Poetry as confrontation and celebration
• Memory, exile, and belonging

Read Poetry from Ishion Hutchinson