AustLit

'‘Mask’ derives variously from the mid 16th century French masque, from Italian maschera, mascara, probably from medieval Latin masca, ‘witch, spectre’ but influenced by Arabic maskara, ‘buffoon’ (Wordflex app 1998–2008, using Oxford Dictionary data ).

'It is a word with widespread interpretation and meaning. It encapsulates all seven previous Not Very Quiet issues and still leaves scope for new ideas and explorations in Issue 8.

'‘Mask’ has special resonance in gender discourses, and of course, has a special meaning in 2020 images of bushfire smoke and the pandemic.' (Sandra Renew and Moya Pacey, Introduction)

'Best of Australian Poems is a new annual anthology collecting previously published and unpublished poems to create a poetic snapshot of the year that was. Capturing the richness and diversity of Australian poetry, across a timeframe of 1 July 2020 - 30 June 2021, the series will explore how poetic responses to the contemporary moment develop with each passing year.

'The book opens with an introduction by its 2021 editors, award-winning poets Ellen van Neerven and Toby Fitch. They discuss their approach to curating the 'aural events' of this inaugural anthology, which features 100 poems across a considered, also provocative at times, range of poetic voices, approaches and themes.

'The Best of Australian Poems (BoAP) series is published by Australia's national poetry organisation, Australian Poetry, and will feature two different guest editors each year.' (Publication summary)