Confessions of a Minor Poet by Phil Brown

Confessions of a Minor Poet by Phil Brown (Transit Lounge) “I was transplanted from a school like the one in Goodbye, Mr. Chips to one more akin to Lord of the Flies. But while my outward life tended to be surfing, partying and reading Tracks magazine, I retained a rather bookish inner life. I was […]

Poem: Know a River by Gregory Day

‘Know a River’ Poem by Gregory Day from Southsightedness Published by Transit Lounge, 2025 Southsightedness is a beautiful book and artefact. Know A River Know a river any river but know a river. Know that life passes at the river’s pace that staunch limbs get snagged till they twist and easy lissome fronds go floating […]

Seedlings Poetry Collection by Tatum Lawn

Seedlings Poetry Collection by Tatum Lawn Illustrated by Shannon Wauchope Foreword by Tess Guinery Guest Author Post by Tatum Lawn ‘Seedlings Poetry Collection’ is a ‘collection of poems for the creatives and dreamers – artists, wordsmiths, designers and makers.’ 🌱 The book is exquisite – and easy to dip in and out of. ‘It is […]

Mother Earth: Poems to celebrate the wonder of nature by Libby Hathorn, illus Christina Booth

Mother Earth: Poems to celebrate the wonder of natureLibby Hathorn, illus by Christina BoothLothianReviewed by Joy LawnReleased July 2023HardbackISBN 9780734421555RRP $24.99Category: Children’s picture book Mother Earth by Libby Hathorn, illus Christina Booth (Lothian Children’s Books) (This review was commissioned by Books+Publishing and is reproduced with permission.) Libby Hathorn and Christina Booth are the respected […]

The Verse Novels of Kathryn Apel

The Verse Novels of Kathryn Apel Author Interview “Why can’t we all just be friends?” (Too Many Friends) Australia is a leader in verse novels for young readers and Kathryn Apel is one of our major writers in the field. Kathryn’s engaging and affirming verse novels, Bully on the Bus (2014), On Track (2015), Too […]

Guwayu – For All Times: A Collection of First Nations Poems

Guwayu – For All Times: A Collection of First Nations Poems Commissioned by Red Room Poetry Edited by Jeanine Leane Published by Magabala Books Guwayu features poems by well-known and acclaimed poets such as Ellen van Neerven, Samuel Wagan Watson, Evelyn Araluen, Ali Cobby Eckermann and Bruce Pascoe as well as exciting new voices. Interview […]

Enfolded in the Wings of a Great Darkness by Peter Boyle

Enfolded in the Wings of a Great Darkness by Peter Boyle (Vagabond Press) recently won the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry in the 2020 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Poetry judges’ comments (from the NSWPLA website) Enfolded in the wings of a great darkness is an extraordinary book-length poem by poet and translator Peter Boyle. The work […]

Love is Strong as Death by Paul Kelly

I loved the introduction. It was empowering. There is a relief when you hear your words said, your experience that you were too busy, fearful or muddled to express. In his foreword to Love is Strong as Death, Paul Kelly has captured the magic and the mystery that poetry is to me – that it […]

Thea Astley: Selected Poems

If you like Thea Astley, you will like her Selected Poems (University of Queensland Press). However, arguably the book is more of an academic work rather than a collection of great poems. The poems serve a purpose, to provide an x-ray into her mind. It is an autobiography of her life in intimate moments. The […]

Brisbane Writers Festival 2019 ‘Compassion’ with Tim Costello, Eve L Ewing & Ben Hobson

‘This Way Humanity’ was the theme of the Brisbane Writers Festival this year. I was honoured to moderate a session, The Incredible Uplift of Compassion, a subject that embodied the theme. Authors on the panel were the venerable Tim Costello, vivacious Chicago-based Marvel writer Eve L. Ewing and Ben Hobson, Brisbane-based author of two recent […]