Reviewed by Ian Lipke Susan Lever identifies Alec Hope as being born in 1907 but reached acclaim as a poet no earlier than the 1960s. An expanded version of his The Wandering Islands was published in 1955. Until this date he was recognised as a satirist and a witty reviewer. With time Hope was showered
Reviewed by Ian Hamilton As a public figure Matthew McConaughey will be known to many readers. In this anthology the reader is taken into his interior world, apparently a long way from his persona as film star. The poems have a broad range of topic and structure, although several themes and modes recur. One area
Reviewed by Ian Lipke ‘The Dingo’s Noctuary’ is an extended illustrated verse novel set in the remote Tanami Desert, addressing themes of cultural alienation, the post-colonial landscape, death and transcendence. While it is an account of personal relationships, its broader ontologies draw from a cultural horizon that predates her relationship with the aboriginal people. ‘The
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Australian poet Les Murray’s poems can be read as reflective of his own life views, his original outlook on social issues such as homelessness, and the importance of rural Australian culture. Natural sacramentalism and the significance of ordinary lives, as shown in An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow and Spring Hail, are common
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve To read this book is an unforgettable experience. The cover, depicting five blue fish side by side, is eye-catching in its beautiful simplicity, belying the ugly reality within. It initially has an almost laconic air but transforms quickly to anger, protest, near despair at the lack of communication and confusion as
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The world which marvelled at the prodigious talent of Clive James last year mourned his death. He was eighty. He was a brilliant author, poet, essayist, critic and television presenter. His final gift to the world is his selection of eighty poems, one for each of the years he lived. Many
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Erica McAlpine expends considerable energy on defining what she means by a mistake in poetry. At first glance, mistakes are just mistakes – somebody has written something and got it wrong. McAlpine’s example of turkeys in England (in Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1) when there were no such birds in the