'Argot: cant, slang, jargon, vernacular, idiom, patter, patois -
'In this collection of poems, Christopher Konrad explores the domain of the personal, perhaps even secret speech; the half hidden languages derived from culture, family, and desire. Employing that slippage of language which only poetry can properly convey - the liminal, free-floating structure of the written or spoken word - enabling it to be just what we make of it, moment by moment, in a changing emotional, cultural, linguistic and historical context.
'Roland Leach, poet and proprietor of Sunline Press, says: Argot is a great collection; an erudite collection in fact. So many new angles … the number of forms used and everything seemed unexpected and a surprise.' (Publication summary)
'It was a great pleasure and honour to be invited to launch Christopher Konrad’s new book of poetry, Argot. Argot is the third major publication by Chris in the past five years, since his Sunline collection I Read My Ancestors(published in Sandfire, 2012, with collections by Flora Smith and Rose van Son) and Letters to Mark (published by Regime in 2014). This latter was the creative component of his PhD from Edith Cowan university, an uncategorisable and fascinating amalgam of poetry, philosophy, theology and fiction. He has also published in many journals and received awards such as the prestigious Tom Collins Poetry Prize. In short, he has been creatively energetic across several genres, and is certainly one of the most intellectually engaging and exciting writers currently at work in Australia.' (Introduction)
'It was a great pleasure and honour to be invited to launch Christopher Konrad’s new book of poetry, Argot. Argot is the third major publication by Chris in the past five years, since his Sunline collection I Read My Ancestors(published in Sandfire, 2012, with collections by Flora Smith and Rose van Son) and Letters to Mark (published by Regime in 2014). This latter was the creative component of his PhD from Edith Cowan university, an uncategorisable and fascinating amalgam of poetry, philosophy, theology and fiction. He has also published in many journals and received awards such as the prestigious Tom Collins Poetry Prize. In short, he has been creatively energetic across several genres, and is certainly one of the most intellectually engaging and exciting writers currently at work in Australia.' (Introduction)
