AustLit

'Grieve 2016 judges uttered many comments after reading all the poetry and prose works submitted this year: ‘what a feast’, ‘such rich imagery’, ‘thank you for inviting me on this marvellous ramble’, ‘I feel honoured and challenged’, ‘what a privilege’, ‘rewarding’ and ‘humbling’. We believe our readers can also expect to feel honoured, challenged and moved by the wealth of literary beauty in this book. The pieces published here capture confusion, anger, avoidance, stoicism, acceptance, growth, forgiveness and hope in the face of loss and grief. These are only some of the emotions that grief may unearth. Now in its fourth year as a national project, there is no sign that writing about grief and grieving is finished. And when we consider how many stories and poems here show us unrecognised, ignored and avoided grief, we could say that Grieve storytelling has only just begun.' (Publication summary)

'From long narrative lines to fine-boned, lyrical loops and ties that bind these poems into place, Richard James Allen has taken risks with language that mark this as his most adventurous and significant book to date. --Anthony Lawrence

'Allen's subject is being itself, and the way our biological and mental dimensions interact, with human intelligence and love being the unifying forces for this interaction. --Adam Aitken' (Publication summary)