A Journal of Australian & International Cultural Reviews, News and Criticism.
Today I am honoured to stand beside Fran, to share her love of fine words, music, sound, rhythm, nuance, cadence, and story, for all poems are stories in some way, cameos of life – stories that tell us, as readers, who we are; who we have been, who we may well become, and possibly give clues to the direction life may take.
I knew from her performances that Elspeth’s poetry was arrestingly good – both highly entertaining and very well crafted. I didn’t know just how good until I read this collection.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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