The Best Australian Poems 2011

Published by Black Inc.,

an imprint of Schwartz Media Pty Ltd

 

37–39 Langridge Street

Collingwood Vic 3066 Australia

email: [email protected]

http://www.blackincbooks.com

 

Introduction & this collection © John Tranter & Black Inc., 2011. Individual poems © retained by the authors.

 

Every effort has been made to contact the copyright holders of material in this book. However, where an omission has occurred, the publisher will gladly include acknowledgement in any future edition.

 

eBook ISBN: 9781921870453

Print ISBN: 9781863955492

 

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior consent of the publishers.

John Tranter

Introduction

 

Robert Adamson

The Sibyl's Avenue

 

Ali Alizadeh

Public Mourning

 

Richard James Allen

Aubade

 

Chris Andrews

Function Centre

 

Jude Aquilina

An Apology

 

Louis Armand

Hugh Tolhurst, with Lines for a Poem

 

Peter Bakowski

Portrait of Edith Murtone, fiction writer

 

Ken Bolton

The Funnies

 

Ken Bolton & John Jenkins

Volatile Condensate

 

Neil Boyack

Others in the Town

 

Peter Boyle

Clarity of the word

 

Kevin Brophy

The Sublime

 

Pam Brown

In my phone

 

Joanne Burns

tick

 

Michelle Cahill

How the Dusk Portions Time

 

Grant Caldwell

the lights are on

 

John Carey

on empty

 

Bonny Cassidy

Magma

 

Julie Chevalier

ms marbig No. 26 16

 

Justin Clemens

We begin building that which cannot collapse because it will have to have been built as if it had already fallen

 

Sue Clennell

Picasso

 

Jennifer Compton

Four Lines by Ezra Pound

 

Michael Crane

Metamorphosis

 

Fred Curtis

Adenocarcinoma Triolet

 

Toby Davidson

Metropolitan Cannibal
Hymn

 

Bruce Dawe

Mini-series

 

Sarah Day

Afterimage

 

Suzanne Edgar

Homage to Mapplethorpe

 

Brook Emery

‘You know the way …'

 

Kate Fagan

Chrome Arrow

 

Diane Fahey

Terns

 

Jeltje Fanoy

Mother's (creative) tempat

 

Michael Farrell

Motherlogue

 

Johanna Featherstone

Warning

 

Liam Ferney

Gli ultimi zombi

 

Toby Fitch

Fluff

 

William Fox

Long Weekend, 2

 

Andrew Galan

The Suns Fall at Zero

 

Angela Gardner

The Sum and its Parts

 

Carolyn Gerrish

Absurdity Rules

 

Jane Gibian

Leftovers from a pirate party

 

Geoff Goodfellow

An Uncertain Future

 

Lisa Gorton

Dreams and Artefacts

 

Robert Gray

Flying Foxes

 

Kathryn Hamann

-kuing the Rex

 

Jennifer Harrison

Busker and Chihuahua, Chapel Street

 

Paul Hetherington

Through a Window, Looking Back

 

Sarah Holland-Batt

The Capuchin

 

Jodie Hollander

The Humane Society

 

Duncan Hose

The Truffle Hunters

 

D.J. Huppatz

FUTURE HAPPY BUDDHA
vs Fake Kenny Rogers Head

 

Mark William Jackson

The Frequency of God

 

John Jenkins

Miracle on Blue Mouse Street, Dublin

 

A. Frances Johnson

Coal and Water

 

Evan Jones

Send in the Clowns

 

Jill Jones

Break on Through

 

Paul Kane

Triangulating the Tasman

 

S.K. Kelen

Rapptown

 

Cate Kennedy

Temporality

 

Richard King

Expat

 

Graeme Kinross-Smith

The History Idea

 

Andy Kissane

It Begins with Darkness

 

Mike Ladd

Mise en Scène

 

Sam Langer

into the index

 

Martin Langford

Sydney and the Bush

 

Anthony Lawrence

Quolls

 

Geoffrey Lehmann

Unlicensed (from Spring Forest)

 

W.M. Lewis

Sierra Nevada

 

Kate Lilley

Crush

 

Debbie Lim

Bodies of Pompeii

 

Helen Lindstrom

5.30 a.m.

 

Astrid Lorange

Lovetypes

 

Roberta Lowing

In the Laneway

 

Anthony Lynch

Sonnet

 

David McCooey

(Weldon Kees)

 

David McGuigan

Grandfather

 

Rhyll McMaster

Late Night Shopping

 

Jennifer Maiden

A Great Education

 

John Miles

Snake Lady

 

Peter Minter

Claustrophilic Lavallière

 

Les Murray

Going to the City, Karachi 2010

 

David Musgrave

Reading Laurie Duggan in the Shanghai New Zhen Jiang Restaurant

 

Nguyen Tien Hoang

Thursday April 21. Canberra

 

Jal Nicholl

Values Meeting

 

Mark O'Flynn

Our Lady of Coogee

 

Ella O'Keefe

Four Thirteen

 

Paul O'Loughlin

Reconfigured

 

Ouyang Yu

I love

 

Louise Oxley

The Red Gurnard

 

Geoff Page

A Manual of Style

 

Eddie Paterson

‘This is the Only Place...'

 

Janette Pieloor

Ripples under the Skin

 

Felicity Plunkett

Cyclone Plotting

 

Claire Potter

Misreading

 

David Prater

Cute

 

Aden Rolfe

How we tell stories about ourselves

 

Peter Rose

Cicerone

 

Penni Russon

Quote

 

Gig Ryan

Daphnis and Chloe

 

Philip Salom

The Faces of the Unpunished

 

Andrew Sant

Mr Habitat Delivers a Speech to the Lapidarists

 

Michael Sariban

The Place in Darkness

 

Jaya Savige

January

 

Mick Searles

On the Up & Up

 

Thomas Shapcott

Georges Perec in Brisbane

 

Michael Sharkey

Heroes of Australia

 

Craig Sherborne

Trophy Getters

 

Alex Skovron

Humility

 

Melinda Smith

Murder at the Poetry Conference

 

Pete Spence

Where's my Rattan Overcoat?

 

Peter Steele

The Knowledge

 

Amanda Stewart

Bondi rock pool. 1963.

 

Adrian Stirling

Christmas Poem

 

Maria Takolander

The Ashes

 

Andrew Taylor

After

 

Tim Thorne

Cave d'Aristide

 

Helen Thurloe

Ambulance thinking

 

Ann Vickery

Adventure at Sadies

 

Corey Wakeling

View

 

Chris Wallace-Crabbe

The Piano Inkpot

 

John Watson

Missing Miss Moore

 

Meredith Wattison

Happiness

 

Alan Wearne

Freely and with the appropriate sense of space

 

Ron Wilkins

Poolside Reflections

 

Warrick Wynne

The Stations of the Stairs

 

Mark Young

A Line from Paracelsus

 

Publication Details

Notes on Contributors