Alex in conversation with Di Cousens, recalling an early poetry submission…. “One of my very first submissions was from Sydney. It was to ‘Poetry Australia’, and at that time Les Murray was editing. I sent a bundle of poems representing those early ten years of my poetry writing but towards the later phase of that,…
Book extract, Tad Friend’s ‘In The Early Times’
from ‘Literary Hub’, May 11th 2022 When Day poisoned his tea with five heaping spoonfuls of sugar, Addison warned him that his teeth would fall out and that he’d get diabetes—one of her periodic public service announcements denouncing meat, cigarettes, and hypocrisy. He just scowled at her. She scoops out half his sugar when he’s…
To Observe that Kind of Devotion: A conversation (Camille Dungy and Major Jackson — ‘Orion’)
(Published recently in US literary journal ‘Orion Magazine’: read the full interview) Camille: One of the things that is most exiting to me about all the best writing going on right now, all politically engaged writing (and I think environmental writing has always been politically engaged) is how it requires a roving eye. A roving eye…
‘Otoliths’: issue 65, southern autumn issue
Issue sixty-five of Otoliths, the southern autumn 2022 issue, is now up. This issue, which marks the beginning of the seventeenth year of the journal’s existence, contains a mix of — sometimes mixed — photographs, paintings, short stories, poetry, interviews, magazine columns, & manifestos from an international contributor list including Karl Kempton, Linda King,…
Vale: Chris Bailey
Stranded — The Saints, 1976
Launch: David Webby’s children’s book (March)
David Webby’s ‘The Misadventures of Harry and Larry: The Chosen Ones’ Launch — Hobart Bookshop (youtube: 3mins 09 secs) Two bush Mice, Harry and Larry, from the Bunya Mountains become trapped in a 4WD owned by two humans, known as Charlie and Izzy Humbledink, and are thrust into an exciting adventure all the way up the east…
Notes from a launch: Esther Ottaway’s ‘Intimate, low-voiced, delicate things’
My take on Jane Williams’ launch of Esther Ottaway’s poetry collection ‘Intimate, low-voiced, delicate things’ in Launceston last year — please visit here. ‘I’ve been a fan of Esther Ottaway’s poetry since her first, small, powerful book Blood Universe some fourteen years ago.’ she said. ‘The long wait has been well worth it and … I suspect Intimate,…
Poetry evening, Launceston — Tuesday 12th April 2022
After a break, poetry is back in Launceston on Tuesday 12th April, in the back bar area of the Sports Garden Hotel, corner of George and Cimitiere Streets. It will be a re-launch of POETRY PEDLARS. Arrive between 7 p.m. and 7.30 for a 7.30 reading start, but come earlier if you want to read in…
Children’s book ‘Tyenna’ (Julie Hunt, Terry Whitebeach) — launched by Daniela Brozek
Launch of the new children’s book Tyenna. The Hobart Bookshop presents Julie Hunt and Terry Whitebeach with an introduction from Daniela Brozek discussing the book and what they have learned about the Tasmanian environment. (from Allen & Unwin) An engaging and suspenseful novel about one girl’s experience of the terrifying Tasmanian bushfires. They…
A poet’s view of the war….
(Talia Lavin, ‘The Intelligencer’, 15th March 2022: ‘The War Never Left. A conversation with Ilya Kaminsky about memory, viral poetry, and the tragedy of Ukraine.) Which poets in Russian and Ukrainian, contemporary and past, should we be reading to understand this moment? We don’t read the poets to understand the moment. We read poets to…