AustLit
Latest Issues
Contents
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Diary of a Restless Traveller : Diane Murray Reviews ‘Tracks’ by Dominique Hecq,
single work
review
'In Dominique Hecq’s latest collection, Tracks, the geology of distance and time persists. It is a compilation which draws the reader on a threaded discovery of the inner workings of the poet’s mind, sampling along the way the bountiful topography of valleys and ranges which soar and bottom out and rise again with the simplicity of her words. It is, as Hecq notes, ‘autofictional fragments of a journey without maps’ spanning 30 years of the author’s life in her adopted country Australia, after a childhood in Belgium.' (Introduction)
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A Dazzling and Wise Debut : Linda Adair Reviews ‘The Beating Heart’ by Denise O’Hagan,
single work
review
— Review of The Beating Heart 2020 selected work poetry ;'From the passion promised by its red cover and declarative title, this debut collection speaks directly from the poet’s heart to that of the reader. The opening poem ‘Before the Party’ presages O’Hagan’s attention to the smallest details and impressions that pulse throughout a life.' (Introduction) -
The Mastery of Immersion and Advocacy in Jordie Albiston’s Poetry by Angela Costi,
single work
essay
'From March to November 2020, the Melbourne populace was restricted, curfewed and in ‘lockdown’ due to COVID19, bringing with it a slow-down, a chance to engage deeply with what nourishes. This was a time when I hunkered down with a breadth of poetry collections engaging with themes of isolation, exile and crises. I gravitated to collections of poems that built on an issue, immersing themselves in one world and all of its nuances. This is the mastery of award-winning poet and scholar, Dr Jordie Albiston. She applies outstanding rigour to research and content, as much as she does to form and metre. During the many months of solitary neighbourhood walks, mandatory masks and global crises spreading through airwaves, Albiston’s poems created reflective spaces on how history is only separated by time, and ‘love’ must be activated on a fundamental level.' (Introduction)
- Photo-Realismi"on the dull density", single work poetry
- Ornithologyi"looking down at you", single work poetry
- Stone Piecesi"my Carrara marble egg", single work poetry
- Taffy at Kangalooni"at 37 your Welsh pony was old when you got her", single work poetry
- Nest Parasitei"woke to that unsettling feeling", single work poetry
- Cloudcatcher Lives up to Its Namei"For three hours I slog up Wollumbin as the mountain rolls its sleeves up", single work poetry
- The Time We Met at Callan Park, Rozellei"Like Jonah, we sway together in the belly of a whale,", single work poetry
- Calls from the Kaze No Denwai"Through the wind, Josh Frydenberg rings JM Keynes.", single work poetry
- The Waitlist, single work poetry
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Nathan Shepherdson Launches ‘Wide River’ by Jane Frank,
single work
review
— Review of Wide River 2020 selected work poetry ;'Wide River by Jane Frank, Calanthe Press 2020, was launched by Nathan Shepherdson on 16th August 2020, at the Under the Greenwood Tree Bookshop and Art Gallery, Tamborine Mountain, Queensland.'
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Translating One Culture Out of Another : Kevin Brophy Launches ‘Living After Death’ by Ouyang Yu,
single work
review
— Review of Living After Death 2020 selected work poetry ;'Living After Death by Ouyang Yu, Melbourne Poets Union 2020 was launched virtually by Kevin Brophy on 10 November 2020'
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Strong and Mesmerizing : Jean Kent Launches ‘Foxline’ by Chris Mansell,
single work
review
— Review of Foxline 2021 selected work poetry ;'Foxline by Chris Mansell, Flying Island Books 2020, was launched by Jean Kent at The Shop Gallery, Glebe on 21st February 2021.'
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Eco-poetry of the Most Delicate Kind : Denise O’Hagan Reviews Wide River by Jane Frank,
single work
review
— Review of Wide River 2020 selected work poetry ;'In every poetry collection, there is one aspect, one overwhelming impression, that we are left with which later comes to define it for us. In Frank’s Wide River, it is the poet’s quiet insistence on reawakening us to the essential wonder of our world that stays with us. In the course of twenty-seven poems, the possibility of any expected or staid response is deliberately peeled away; if familiarity breeds blindness, Frank’s overwhelming achievement is surely to restore us to a gloriously sensitised vision of things:...' (Introduction)
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Confronting the Barricades in Our Hearts : Harold Legaspi Reviews ‘Bone Ink’ by Rico Craig,
single work
review
— Review of Bone Ink 2017 selected work poetry ;'Rico Craig teaches us through his writings. The opening poem ‘Angelo’ of the 2017 Anne Elder Award winner Bone Ink exposes the underbelly of Craig’s stomping ground in Western Sydney.' (Introduction)
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Power, Meaning and Inspiration : Beatriz Copello Reviews ‘Case Notes’ by David Stavanger,
single work
review
— Review of Case Notes 2020 selected work poetry ;'David Stavanger is a well- known award-winning writer, performer and psychologist, and his latest collection, Case Notes, has been shortlisted for the 2021 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for poetry. The book takes you into a fascinating, quasi psychedelic trip into a mind, a mind sometimes accosted by mental illness and at other times reflecting a god energy in his words. Case Notes has five sections, each section introduced by the Psychology Symbol Ψ, repeating the symbol to number each one.' (Introduction)
- Little Thingsi"A flustering moth", single work poetry
- After the Fishermeni"Stoppage", single work poetry