A Journal of Australian & International Cultural Reviews, News and Criticism.
Firstly, one has to marvel at the vast, unquenchable curiosity that runs through Ron’s work. There is a global shortage of this invaluable human trait. You find it everywhere in this book from communal bathrooms in Japan to the nature of the human soul.
The poetry is carefully crafted and elegant. The subject matter is wide ranging… richly brought to life within the forms Roberts has chosen. Reading through this collection has been a privilege and a delight.
Over 45 years Les Wicks has performed widely across the globe. Published in over 450 different magazines, anthologies & newspapers across 36 countries in 15 languages. Les conducts workshops & runs Meuse Press which focuses on poetry outreach projects like poetry on buses & poetry published on the surface of a river. His 15th book of poetry is Time Taken – New & Selected (Puncher & Wattmann, 2022).
There’s a certain relentless quality to this book, a refusal to stand still. “To falter becomes a fissure for the grime”. This is both an engine driving us through this uneasy though forgiven world alongside a promise that the explorations evident in this book are not the end of the story, just the beginning.
Rapatahana’s focus rests heavily on language – he argues it can be an oppressor and a liberator. Language matters.
Les Wicks has toured widely and seen publication in over 400 different magazines, anthologies & newspapers across 36 countries in 15 languages. His 15th book of poetry is Time Taken – New & Selected (Puncher & Wattmann, 2022). His Spanish bilingual e-book is available from the Rochford Cottage Bookshop. He can found on-line at http://leswicks.tripod.com/lw.htm
I am sure, when Les started writing, that he didn’t really know what he would end up producing. Well now he has written it: a further contribution to the ongoing album of Sydney, a keen-eyed portrait gallery, a record of travels far and wide – and with the whole lot framed by questions we haven’t resolved yet, and almost certainly won’t, but which it’s essential to keep on asking.
Rochford Street Review 