Cirrus@Austlit

This publication is the programme produced to accompany the Australian Chamber Orchestra's 'Last Words' tour. The tour comprised performances of works by Brahms, Beethoven and J. S. Bach as well as the world premiere performance of 'Seven Last Words'.

The works were performed in Wollongong, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and again in Sydney between 5 March-21 March 2004.

'Dorothy Porter was one of Australia’s truly original writers, renowned for her passionate, offbeat poetry and verse novels. The Best 100 Poems of Dorothy Porter draws from her life’s work to present the many facets of Porter the poet, from stretching the fabric of ancient mythology to delving into the beauty of the natural world, or inking an intimate message on your heart. This elegant hardback, a companion volume to The Best 100 Poems of Les Murray, is the perfect gift for Porter fans and newcomers alike. (Publisher's blurb)

'Living Systems celebrates poetry’s unique capacity to challenge and make new our experience of the world. At the heart of this collection is a reaffirmation of poetry as essential kit, as an art form that deepens and expands how we might perceive the world and know each other. The poems gathered here offer an alternative to the streams, echo chambers and silos of contemporary media and return the reader to the deep flow and entanglement of human consciousness and language unique to poetry. 

'Since 1999, Vagabond Press has quietly grown to become one of the leading publishers of poetry and poetry in translation in Australia, creating a transnational list that includes some of the key poets and poetry translators of the Asia Pacific region. Marking twenty-five years of hardscrabble independent small press publishing, Living Systems showcases poets from Australia and across Asia Pacific, and offers a snapshot of poetry, poetics and life in all its complexity, nuance and possibility at the start of the twenty-first century. 

'With over 400 pages of poetry from around 170 poets and translators from Australia, Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore, America, New Zealand, Mexico and elsewhere, Living Systems marks twenty-five years of small press publishing by Vagabond Press and celebrates poetry and individual human creativity.' (Publication summary)