AustLit

'UnHistory: A poem cycle is the fifth and final volume of the dialogue in poetry between Kwame Dawes and John Kinsella, which began with Speak from Here to There (2016). At 508 pages it is also by far the largest instalment, bringing the project to 1,300 pages (or 725 poems) in total. Spanning two years from mid-2019, this is a de facto “chronicle of this season: / the pestilence, the riots, lies and great / truths unsettled”. Purnell’s History of the Second World War anthology, Netflix, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Lee “Scratch” Perry, the musical Hamilton, Derek Walcott and the teeth of the murdered Congolese prime minister Patrice Lumumba are just some of the grist for their maximalist poetic mill.'  (Introduction)

'Tough and alert, Savige's shapeshifting poems reflect the world in violent transformation. Bodies scarred by history collide in the ruckus of generations, geopolitics and technology. Elegies on the loss of a child appear alongside poems that set a pulse to new life, biomedical surveillance, leaf blowers, fatbergs, mechanical pets and military coups. A work of fiercely intelligent artistry, Change Machine is shaped, equally, by feeling - its wild originality comes from how it forces the two together.' (Publication summary)