Going South (book)

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Going South
Going South (book cover).png
Authors Ella Yelich-O'Connor
Harriet Were
LanguageEnglish
Genre
Published4 June 2021
Publication placeNew Zealand
Pages104

Going South is a 2021 memoir and photo-book by New Zealand singer and songwriter Lorde, published under her personal name, Ella Yelich-O'Connor. The book documents her experience visiting the continent of Antarctica for a week in January 2019, with accompanying photos taken by New Zealand photographer Harriet Were.

Contents

All proceeds from the book were used to fund a postgraduate scholarship created by Antarctica New Zealand, a government agency. [1]

Background and release

Yelich-O'Connor expressed an interest in exploring the region of Antarctica from an early age, noting an excursion to an aquarium as a child and learning about the Terra Nova Expedition as particularly sparking her interest. [2] In January 2019, she was invited to visit Antarctica's Scott Base and McMurdo Station, travelling as an Antarctic Ambassador with Antarctica New Zealand. [3] [4] During her stay, she explored the Antarctic terrain, observed microscopic species in environmental laboratories and spoke with scientists.

Announced in November 2020 through her newsletter, Yelich-O'Connor described the book as a precursor to her then unreleased third studio album, describing the trip as "this great white palette cleanser, a sort of celestial foyer I had to move through in order to start making the next thing." [5] The book is split into two parts; an opening 10-page essay written originally for Metro , followed by pages of photographs by Ware and footnotes from Yelich-O'Connor. On the inside of the book's back cover, the phrase "blink 3 times when you feel it kicking in" is printed, alluding to a line from "Solar Power", which was released less than two weeks after the book.

References

  1. Bruce, Jasper (24 November 2020). "Lorde to release 100-page photo album documenting Antarctica trip". NME. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  2. Yelich-O'Connor, Ella. "Metro — Going South". www.metromag.co.nz. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  3. "Lorde writes her first book, from Antarctica". Stuff. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  4. "Antarctica New Zealand: Annual Report (2018–2019)" (PDF). Antarctica New Zealand. New Zealand Government. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  5. "Elusive Lorde spotted in Antarctica on trip to environmental lab". The New Zealand Herald . 30 January 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2020.