Images and texts on the Verandah - an audiovisual display

As part of eXposure season at Deakin University, there will be an audiovisual display featuring poems and artwork from Verandah 22, including readings of poetry by Tom Cho, Rhys Tate, Virginia Spicer and yours truly. A rendition of my Self Portait (with wires, city & no clothes) was recorded especially for the display.

The Verandah 22 display will run from Monday 17 September to Friday 5 October in the Phoenix foyer, Building P, Deakin Burwood. Entry is free.

Update 11/12/07: The audio file of my reading can be downloaded from here.

pollen (2007)

night air aroused
drawling with spring

*

pollen delivering words
as raw silk
through the unseen
caverns of my nose

*

in the middle of the street,
also high on pollen,
deadkids play lazy karate

*

halogen lamp oversees
glossy 'for sale' sign,
spraying its light,
mistakenly conjures
tilts of red from garden roses

*

on a nature strip,
legless ergonomic chair implies
a silent office of Zen


A previous version of this poem was published in Frame Lines issue 7, February 2009.















Below: Scanning electron microscope image of pollen grains from a variety of plants. (This is a public domain image sourced from here.)

While we tried to love... (2007)

reception clearer now
(no white noise haunting)

been straight
for just on 2 months

equipped with
transaction burns,
synth tears,
mounds of sugar fiction

& imagination
(a sleek, amber-winged insect)
crawls over the drumskin
of my cheek,
drums polyrhythmic
code into me

the latest flight dream,
we were frenchkissing clouds
with our teeth

*

escape the bed
before you
to check the newsfeeds
(a pretense)

another internet death today

none of us can hide the blame:
it's there in every click,

early reports,
'love' in the headline

Verandah 22 launched!

Verandah 22 was launched yesterday at the Melbourne Writers' Festival. As usual, the launch attracted a large, enthusiastic crowd. It was great to see everyone there, and to meet some of the editors and contributors.

I was presented with the 'Books4U Literary Award' for my poem Self portrait (with wires, city & no clothes), and did a reading of the poem. Adam Davis and Tom Cho also performed their work - Tom's delivery of his piece AIYO!!! An evil group of ninjas is entering and destroying a call centre was highly entertaining! Special congrats to the incomparable Toby Davidson, who breezed in from Warrnambool to collect the Penguin Literary Award.

Congratulations to all the other prize winners and contributors, and to the Verandah editors, designers... and everyone involved in the conception and production of this edition. It looks fantastic, and the content is top notch. I especially like Jessika Tong's poem Transformations.

Verandah 22 is available now from good bookshops. In Melbourne, try Readings, The Brunswick St Bookstore, or my personal favourite, Collected Works Poetry & Ideas Bookshop.