This book is aimed at providing criticism on contemporary Australian poetry in a form that is accessible to general readers. It is intended to be the first in a series which will grapple with the bewildering diversity of the contemporary poetry scene. Australian poetry deserves a criticism that accompanies the astonishing momentum and luminosity that has developed, which both elucidates the scale of poetic achievement and is also not afraid to evaluate that achievement through a rigorous and disinterested critical lens. Australian poets have been feeding the ghost with extraordinary energy and acumen over the last quarter of a century; it is now time for Australian poetry criticism to catch up.
Andy Kissane has published a novel, a book of short stories, The Swarm, (2012) and four books of poetry. Radiance (2014) was shortlisted for the Victorian and Western Australian Premier's Prizes for Poetry and the Adelaide Festival Awards. His essay on the Indigenous poet, Dennis McDermott was the winner of the inaugural BTG - Blue Dog Poetry Reviewing Prize.
David Musgrave teaches English and Writing at the University of Newcastle. He was a co-editor (with Martin Langford, Judith Beveridge and Judy Johnson) of Contemporary Australian Poetry (2016). He has published six collections of poetry, the most recent being Anatomy of Voice (2016) which was awarded the Arts Queensland Judith Wright Calanthe Award for Poetry.
Carolyn Rickett is an Assistant Dean (Research), Senior Lecturer in Communication and creative arts practitioner at Avondale College of Higher Education. Her research and teaching interests focus on: trauma and bereavement studies; writing as therapeutic intervention; memoir and autobiographical writing; medical humanities; journalism ethics and praxis; literary and poetry studies; chaplaincy, and the psychosocial and spiritual care of patients.
