Leaving a mark on history is usually the result of courage, but it always starts by simply making a stand.Since 2009, Australian journalist Michael Burge has written about single-minded individuals who faced fear, grief and oppression, yet went through with defiant acts of social and cultural rebellion.Many of them got a very bad name in the process, or had their motives shrouded in mystery.Pluck is Michael’s re-examination of several divas, dilettantes, groundbreakers, chameleons, rebels and heroes faced with crossroads, comebacks and reinventions.From international cultural figures such as Whitney Houston, Meryl Streep and Angela Lansbury, and writers E. M. Forster, Agatha Christie, William Shakespeare and Helene Hanff; to lesser-known artists such as Australia's unsung costume designer Orry-Kelly and England's wayward Brontë brother Branwell, Michael digs deep into extraordinary lives.Along the way, he records encounters with people whose courage put them in the line of critical fire, through coming out, such as Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe; and through making a stand for the sake of their working style, like Australian actor Judy Davis. This fascinating collection reveals new perspectives on fame but also sheds a timely light on lives which may never be acclaimed, yet went where angels fear to tread.

When a middle-aged boy player returns to London's Globe playhouse during a terrible revival of Romeo and Juliet, she sets off a chain of events as great as any of Shakespeare's entertainments, revealing a love story that lay hidden for decades, just beneath the lines of the script. Centuries later, an out-of-work Sydney actor connects the dots of this drama and is inspired to write a play, bringing him face to face with big life lessons in the art and politics of storytelling. The lives of these two unconventional players collide in a journey from Australia to England, from drama school to the professional stage, from male to female, from failure to success and back again, exploring the untold story of those who created the complete works of William Shakespeare.

After several careers that went off the rails more times than he cares to acknowledge, author Michael Burge took to journalism at the age of forty and has felt it necessary to look over his shoulder ever since!Taking jobs that nobody else wanted because the pay was crap and the prospects zero, Michael found a lifeboat in an industry that was starting to sink faster than theTitanic.Creating Waves is a collection of his hardest-hitting and most heartfelt articles, published in Australian and overseas news sites, including Fairfax Media, NoFibs and Gay Star News.From the most opinionated of commentaries about politics in the final years of Australia’s marriage equality debate; to his insightful film, book and pop-culture reviews, Michael’s journalism is always deeply personal.With a touch that is at times funny and outraged, he explores sense of place in a country determined to reject equality, and where journos are considered worse than scum.

Leaving a mark on history is usually the result of courage, but it always starts by simply making a stand.Since 2009, Australian journalist Michael Burge has written about single-minded individuals who faced fear, grief and oppression, yet went through with defiant acts of social and cultural rebellion.Many of them got a very bad name in the process, or had their motives shrouded in mystery.Pluck is Michael’s re-examination of several divas, dilettantes, groundbreakers, chameleons, rebels and heroes faced with crossroads, comebacks and reinventions.From international cultural figures such as Whitney Houston, Meryl Streep and Angela Lansbury, and writers E. M. Forster, Agatha Christie, William Shakespeare and Helene Hanff; to lesser-known artists such as Australia's unsung costume designer Orry-Kelly and England's wayward Brontë brother Branwell, Michael digs deep into extraordinary lives.Along the way, he records encounters with people whose courage put them in the line of critical fire, through coming out, such as Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe; and through making a stand for the sake of their working style, like Australian actor Judy Davis. This fascinating collection reveals new perspectives on fame but also sheds a timely light on lives which may never be acclaimed, yet went where angels fear to tread.

When a middle-aged boy player returns to London's Globe playhouse during a terrible revival of Romeo and Juliet, she sets off a chain of events as great as any of Shakespeare's entertainments, revealing a love story that lay hidden for decades, just beneath the lines of the script. Centuries later, an out-of-work Sydney actor connects the dots of this drama and is inspired to write a play, bringing him face to face with big life lessons in the art and politics of storytelling. The lives of these two unconventional players collide in a journey from Australia to England, from drama school to the professional stage, from male to female, from failure to success and back again, exploring the untold story of those who created the complete works of William Shakespeare.

After several careers that went off the rails more times than he cares to acknowledge, author Michael Burge took to journalism at the age of forty and has felt it necessary to look over his shoulder ever since!Taking jobs that nobody else wanted because the pay was crap and the prospects zero, Michael found a lifeboat in an industry that was starting to sink faster than theTitanic.Creating Waves is a collection of his hardest-hitting and most heartfelt articles, published in Australian and overseas news sites, including Fairfax Media, NoFibs and Gay Star News.From the most opinionated of commentaries about politics in the final years of Australia’s marriage equality debate; to his insightful film, book and pop-culture reviews, Michael’s journalism is always deeply personal.With a touch that is at times funny and outraged, he explores sense of place in a country determined to reject equality, and where journos are considered worse than scum.