Cirrus@Austlit

'Remembering Richard is a collection of stories about the unease which lies just below the surface of life. A boy sets out to swim across a lake, only to discover its bottom is covered with treacherous, muddy-looking weed, which seems to grasp at him, seeking to drag him under… A family falls apart as the beloved creek at the bottom of their garden is destroyed by a combination of industrial pollution and local council works. People disappear without explanation, the dead revisit the living. the boundaries of reality and sanity are tested. But there is hope, too. One brother looks after another when the latter has fallen on hard times and despaired. And a middle-aged accountant who has lost everything rediscovers confidence and a sense of purpose from a strange encounter with an artist’s wife. By turns sad, funny, mysterious and haunting, these stories will move, amuse, puzzle and ultimately challenge the reader, remaining in the mind long after the book is finished.' (Publication summary)

'This is a first collection from Stephen Smithyman, whose poetry has won a number of awards and been published in magazines such as Australian Poetry Journal and Cordite. It covers the years 1976 to 2012 and a wide range of subjects, including growing up in New Zealand, relationships, family, travel, country living and the ageing process. Its themes include the search for love, happiness and some sort of sustaining belief, transience and the preciousness of life, faced with the omnipresence of death. There is a strong political and environmental interest throughout. The poems are characteristically witty and concise, phrased in clear, accessible language with a deft use of original and , at times, amusing imagery. Snapshot in the Dark is an entertaining, touching and thought-provoking introduction to Smithyman's poetry. '  (Publication summary)