Cirrus@Austlit

'The final, posthumous collection of poems from Australia's unofficial poet laureate

'In a poetic gift from beyond the grave, Les Murray left a trove of last poems. These are poems he was working on up to his death, as well as work uncovered from his scrapbooks and files.

'Various, intriguing and moving, this is a wonderful final collection from Australia's greatest poet - including a title poem that calls up the spirit of continuous creation, 'out of all that vanishes and all that will outlast us'.

'Continuous Creation is the perfect gift for long-time fans of Murray and new readers alike.' (Publication summary) 

'Les Murray’s new and updated Collected Poems displays the full range of his poetic art. This magnificent hardback volume contains all the poems he wants to preserve, apart from the verse novel Fredy Neptune, from his first book The Ilex Tree (1965) to Waiting for the Past (2015) and On Bunyah (2016). In tracing Murray’s artistic development, it shows an ever-changing power, grace and humour, as well as great versatility and formal mastery.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'‘Renowned songwriter Joe Dolce has long outgrown the pop lyric and moved into a risky domain where recitative, comedy, folk and slapstick build shelters for themselves among social commentary and the poetry of lists. He has a foot, or feet, in diverse realms serious and entertaining and has resolved that he will never record another song that has not been first published as a stand-alone poem. No colleague to his knowledge has yet ventured into this territory yet its potentials for escape from the shiftily High Serious and the narrow criteria of academic critique are obvious. Wit, and the songwriter’s freedoms of seeing one’s creations recorded by others, are possible bases for a jazz-like shift in the profession of poetry, and music remains available to float logjams that commentary is apt to desiccate. Since coming to Quadrant as a regular contributor, he has built a real following for his work, and we’ll miss him when his vogue spreads beyond our pages.’ - Les Murray' (Publication summary)