I am out of words at home. I have grown bored with my language; bored with my voice; bored with my writing. My words labour under Australia’ s history. The land itself, as much as I love it, bears down hard. Now, in another place, I am finding lighter words. At times, I may not need to speak at all. I smile; I nod. I seek permission to speak. Please, do you mind? Will you allow me? In an important book for our times, Stan Grant — one of Australia’ s most prominent writers about identity, nationhood and belonging — reflects on how we struggle to speak to one another today, and the importance of listening, silence and philosophy, from Plato to Simone Weil to Radiohead.