Bruce Pascoe on fighting bushfires and the fight over his identity

Summer's fires have left their mark on Dark Emu author Bruce Pascoe.

As he explains in this long conversation with Jonathan Green, the experience of fighting fire is something shared in a nod or a glance.

And while the fires raged, Pascoe was caught in the continuing culture war over his Aboriginal identity.

"It was an incredibly painful time and it just went on and on ... it was the kind of tactics which are meant to sap your morale, and it worked."