Cirrus@Austlit

'Against a backdrop of boundless wildfire, poetry of losing and parting, unearthing and resurging - as ever, in a voice comfortable with mystery. Elizabeth Goodsir is a Tasmanian poet. Her previous books include It Can Take Till Now and Blue Pollen Beautiful.' (Publication summary)

'Elizabeth has made cards, restyled fairy tales, kept journals, penned love letters, told stories to children and grandchildren, written memoirs and created poetry for as long as she remembers. The harvest of this passion for making and marking is the love her grandchildren have for writing. It Can Take Till Now is a lyrical mix of voices exploring moments of whimsy, curiosity, gratitude and pure delight. More than a collection of poetry, this collection captures the story of a family over four generations.
'‘The chronicle of a life and a family told through moments of insight offers wisdom to us all. The skill of the poet to condense complex experience into such rare and potent words opens a window into the inner world of everyone. Elizabeth Goodsir achieves this with such heart and humour that we can feel kinder and wiser to have known her and through her know ourselves. I recommend this rich and welcoming experience to all lovers of life and family.’ - Aurora Hammond BSocWk, MA Psych
‘Elizabeth and Bruce have been in my life for thirty years. In that time I have observed a family whose love for art and beauty and experimenting and exploring has been inspiring and relentless. In It Can Take Till Now, Elizabeth's written wisdom is not misspent moralising. Instead it is offered with open hands, and sits beautifully beside Bruce's drawings that capture life in all its quivering glory. We simply glide into the hearts of these two artists. What can be more meaningful than reading odes about family and the close friends who define our short time on earth. Poems such as ‘Birthing day’, ‘Reunion’ and ‘Farewell Sweet Neighbour’ remind us where poetry needs to sit: in our breast pocket close to our hearts.’ -Neeta Oakley BA, BSW, GradCert. HHS'  (Publication summary)

'"Whimsy and from the heart, Libby Goodsir’s words reflect what is to be human and to be a mother. Made-leine’s images perfectly counterpoint Libby’s words, adding a thousand new dimensions to the meditation. What a gift!" - Chris Gallagher

'"A collection of ‘images and words playing with what it is to be human / they asked to be put together’. Blue Pollen Beautiful is the result of a serendipitous collaboration between mother and daughter. Overruling a daughter’s ‘decisive and unsentimental’ intention to discard earlier artwork, her mother rescues the images and strategically places them among her own gentle, meditative poems. The result is a lovely distillation of women’s lived experience, of ‘the shuffle of women / making more space’. The poems celebrate the various selves the poet encounters within and without as she explores the ‘beauties of change’ and traces the flow of life from generation to generation, like ‘seagrasses / borne up by each wave’. Blue Pollen Beautiful hon-ours both the flow and the ‘anchored / lucid’ –mothers and daughters as givers and keepers of story." - Terry Whitebeach' (Publication summary)

'This collaborative work of Elizabeth and Bruce Goodsir is a celebration of their love and life. Elizabeth's playful and reflective poetry gathered over years, set against the truth of Bruce's drawings, make for an exquisite collection of delicate lines - words and images speaking whimsy and wisdom.' (Publication summary)