Cirrus@Austlit

'Feldspar, the new collection of poetry from Brendan Ryan, is unflinching in its focus on rural landscapes, the treatment of farm animals and the humble lives of people often missing from poetry. There are odes to invigilators, truck drivers, a family member who took to walking, laments for dogs and the hardened realities of country living. A sense of longing for and loss from the country is a sub-text for poems that reveal how place is never only a geographical location, but more of a state of mind to be revisited again and again and where belonging can also be found in music, driving or looking at the country you inevitably return to.' (Publication summary)

'I am honoured to be asked to launch Amanda Johnson’s fourth book of poetry, Save As. I have known Amanda for some years, and like the person herself, I found this collection of poetry to be playful, funny, critical, smart and a pleasure to be immersed in.'  (Introduction)

'Australian poet Brendan Ryan speaks about his life in this memoir of "the child, the youth and the young man finding his footing amidst the mysteries of cows and the ruthless cycles of the farm, the dry-eyed melancholy of the milking-shed and the mercy of the weather. Here also are the puzzles of existence contained in parents and siblings, in small things and small talk, and the revelations of the school bus and the school. This is a classic memoir: Brendan Ryan's words come at us directly, and often with startling intensity, from indelible experience. And we feel his need to return." (Don Watson, 2020)' (Publication summary)

'Ryan draws poetry from the tough work of dairy farming and factories, poetry that transcends time and class, it's a joy to read this book, laced with dry humour and a complex humanity. Hard edged yet inviting. Ryan has a light touch and a gathering depth. 'The Lowlands of Moyne' is rich with living, an exciting and positive book, poetry
that glows in the darkness. -Robert Adamson ' (Publication summary)