Francis Webb Centenary – 8 February 2025
Francis Webb will forever be the ultimate ‘poet’s poet’, but he belongs to all Australians and this milestone is a chance to reflect on his legacy which elevates us all.
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A slow reassembling of pieces: Adrienne Eberhard launches ‘Afterlife’ by Kathryn Lomer
The title, Afterlife, works in two ways. The first is as a literal afterlife, the kind many different cultures believe in, the life after death that is a kind of immortality. A number of poems in this collection explore this concept and our human need for reassurance that there will be a life after death.
Highly polished, subtle and filmic : Anne Casey launches ‘Separation Blues: Poems 1994-2024’ by Nathanael O’Reilly
Nat’s poetry is highly polished, subtle and filmic in its detail. ‘Separation Blues’ is, I believe, Nat’s thirteenth book – and what a gorgeous production it is! Within its pages – which span more than four decades – you will find his characteristic precision and concision; powerful opening lines and dramatic closes; razor-sharp observation; clipped phrases; as well as skillfully painted portraits of people, places and eras.
Ciarán O’Rourke: 5 Poems
Ciarán O’Rourke is a poet from Dublin. His second collection, Phantom Gang, was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2023. His third collection is forthcoming from The Irish Pages Press.
Love of the small, beautiful details: Jane Frank launches ‘Small Epiphanies’ by David Terelinck
I’ve been savouring Small Epiphanies over the last few weeks. Savouring is the perfect word because these poems are intricately layered with sensual detail and richly textured.
A wild ride: Mike Ladd reviews ‘Tadpoems 400 Shorts’ by Tug Dumbly
As Rae Desmond Jones said in his introduction to The Selected Your Friendly Fascist, “Poetry can tend to sombre pomposity, or the self-consciously polite.” Tug Dumbly is certainly not that.
A rich, hybrid environment. Judith Beveridge talks to Jean Kent and Martin Kent about ‘Paris Light’
I think this is a marvellous and engrossing publication which so beautifully showcases how the two art forms complement and enhance each other – there haven’t been too many collaborations between differing artists in Australian poetry
Helen Swain: 5 Poems from ‘Calibrating Home’
Helen Swain lives and works in lutrawita/Tasmania on the foothills of kunanyi/Mt Wellington. Helen has been a performer in Theatre in Education, worked in Community Theatre, was a High School English teacher and for many years taught English as Another Language with new Migrant and Refugee arrivals. She is currently a Poet in Residence with Inscape Arts working in the public health sector. Celebrating Home (Five Islands Press) is her third book of poetry.
Jennifer Harrison: 6 Poems
Jennifer Harrison has written eight books of poetry, most recently Anywhy (Black Pepper 2018). She is Chair of the World Psychiatry Association’s Section for Art and Psychiatry and received the 2012 Christopher Brennan Award for sustained contribution to Australian poetry. Recent work has appeared in Australian Book Review 2022, Best of Australian Poems 2022, Australian Poetry Journal 2023, Rabbit 2022, The Hyacinth Review 2023 (France), Unusual Work 2023 and The Fourth River 2023 (USA).
Rochford Street Review 