A series of mirrors: Esther Ottaway reviews ‘Who Comes Calling?’ by Miriam Wei Wei Lo
Lo reminds us that “Without the woman at the kitchen sink, / nothing is possible”, and exhorts us, “(For goodness sake, pick up a teatowel, start drying!)”
Books
The fleeting exposure of one thought over another: Damen O’Brien launches ‘Ghosts Struggle to Swim’ by Jane Frank
Jane’s poems are the paintings and portraits of a person watching the difficult moments of their life happening. There is always a part of every poet that remains an observer, even at the worst extremity, that stands apart to watch what is happening.
Beyond the realm of evocative descriptiveness: Ross Gillett launches ‘The Light Café’ by Diane Fahey
The Light Café is a book in four sections, each headed by a stunning Dickinson quote, and one of the sections is a rain sequence, while elsewhere in the book are cloud sequences together with marvellous imagery of atmospheric effects – all of this rendered, along with the sky, the moon and the sun and the movements of air, with transformative close attention.
A rendering of threats: Stephanie Green reviews ‘Critical State’ by B. R. Dionysius
The poetry of B. R. Dionysius in Critical State holds continuity and rupture in tension as he explores the encroachments of the Anthropocene on distinctive Queensland regional environments
The Significance of Rain: Margaret Bradstock reviews ‘Swimmer in the Dust’ by Ross Gillett
Gillett’s land and seascapes convey levels of meaning and receptivity far beyond the literal, and deepen our understanding of the forces that move us.
The Human Voices of Flowers: Robbie Coburn reviews ‘Kangaroo Paw’ by Claire Miranda Roberts
At a time when there is more poetry being published than ever before, one could be forgiven for missing certain publications. In the case of Claire Miranda Roberts’ first collection, Kangaroo Paw, such an oversight would be doing the reader a great disservice.
A lean, mean poetry machine: Maeve O’Sullivan launches ‘Some of These Stories are True’ by Maurice Devitt’
If Maurice was a film director, he’d be a cross between Stephen Spielberg and David Lynch, with a dollop of Baz Luhrman thrown in for good measure.
Vantage Points On Lived Realities: Devika Brendon reviews ‘The Unintended Consequences Of The Shattering’ by Linda Adair
Adair is not ‘oblivious to the visceral sadness/ that still abides in living memories’. And her poetry breaks the smooth surfaces of several silences that our society endorses,
All histories are valuable: John Foulcher launches ‘The Shadow Box’ by Jean Kent
The Shadow Box is a wonderful book by one of the country’s most consummate poets.
Rochford Street Review 