Cirrus@Austlit

'In some ways, this is like a poet's first collection; poems ranging over years, themes and subject matter. My previous collections have had a narrative, tight focus; one covering the women in Picasso's life and the other exploring the online life of the 1990s.The opportunity to put together a collection encompassing themes and subject matter that have had continued importance to me through my poetic journey reminded me of these areas that catch my curiosity, and the enduring place of writing in my life. How regular journaling and a writing life somehow place a prism over the rest of my days, highlighting some aspects and shifting others. My parents are in their nineties, and both have an interest in words. My dad, Buster Dawes, telling captivating, round-the-fireplace stories and my mum...' (Publication summary)

'Partner away and home alone but for the sleeping children, our protagonist joins online chat. As a newbie, she battles with the language and protocols of cyberspace and wonders if anyone will ever speak to her online.

'Then online life becomes more technicoloured than the real thing. She makes friends, learns the lingo and ponders the meaning of fidelity, humanity and living in the moment.

'Told from the first person point of view this verse novel uses the language and shape of online chat, email, fragments and stream of consciousness to take the reader headfirst into the world of online life in the nineties. brb: be right back relives the beginnings of social networking with the humour, excitement and dilemmas it can pose.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.