Cirrus@Austlit

'There are so many ideas in this issue that have moved me, gnawed at me and floated around in my head for the many months we’ve worked to bring these writings and artworks to you. At the time of going to print, COP26 was only a week away, so it seemed fitting to begin this issue with Harriet Riley’s ‘Climate Girls’ and an image of Bristol’s massive mural of perhaps the most outspoken one. (If you haven’t heard Greta Thunberg’s ‘blah blah blah’ speech, do look it up.) It struck me how often climate impacts loomed in this issue, whether front and centre as in Harriet Riley’s and Joan Fleming’s essays, or as a malevolent force in the background – from Ivy Ireland’s dying trees and struggling nasturtiums to Claire Corbett’s experience of being far from home in a wintry Europe while bushfire raged in New South Wales. The term ‘apocalypse’ rolls off the tongue so regularly now, but the word has a broad meaning: catastrophic destruction, disaster and endings, yes, but also revelation, disclosure, discovery. This issue covers the spectrum of ‘the various apocalypses of a life’ – tragedy, loss, illness, but also strange visions, transformations, uncertainty and the connecting power of love.' (Publication introduction)

'Best of Australian Poetry is an annual anthology collecting previously published and unpublished poems to create a poetic snapshot of the year that was. Capturing the richness and diversity of Australian poetry, across a timeframe of 1 July 2021 - 7 August 2022, the series, now in its second year, will explore how poetic responses to the contemporary moment develop with each passing year.

'The book opens with an introduction by its 2022 editors, award-winning and highly respected poets and editors, Jeanine Leanne and Judith Beveridge. Both Jeanine, a Wiradjuri poet, and Judith have extensive experience as poetry teachers, academics and poetry anthologists previously.

'The Best of Australian Poetry (BoAP) series is published by Australia's national poetry organisation, Australian Poetry, and will feature two different guest editors each year, to amplify the range of voices selected. It is funded by the Australia Council for the Arts and individual patrons.' (Publication summary)