Cirrus@Austlit

'A Word to the Spies and other poems by Penelope Nelson brings together some poetic time capsules of a passionate life. Born in Sydney in 1943, Nelson has also lived in Berlin, Narrabri and Berlin. Although her poems draw on her own experience, they also shed light on key issues of her time - the Berlin Wall, the fall of the Whitlam government and the impact of women's liberation. Versatile and original, Nelson blends the wry with the heartfelt. In form, the poems range from rhyming romps to free verse. Many of these poems first appeared in Australian literary journals.'  (Publication summary)

'Have you ever heard Latin American music coming from an upper room over a shop, and lingered briefly at the sign about dancing classes? Perhaps you have seen people-- a man in built-up shoes or a woman with a surfeit of silver bangles --heading for an old town hall after dark. The world of ballroom dancing and tango lessons has its own etiquette and hierarchies. Libby Sommer's new fiction, The Crystal Ballroom, lifts the lid on the delights and pitfalls of this fascination sub-culture.' (Introduction)