When Australian poetry soars to new heights, it's usually because poets open up to the whole place ... they take risks and write from the core of our culture.' ---ROBERT ADAMSON. By turns playful and topical, intimate and engaged, this vibrant collection gathers voices from all across the country from cities and coastal towns to the very heart o...

With their tidal imagination, the poems in this debut collection sweep between old worlds and new, seeking the lost and recovering the found among shipwrecks, underwater zoos and discovered lands. Emma Jones brings her inventive worlds dramatically to life in a series of vividly distilled meetings - of settlers and indigenous peoples, of seawaters and shore, of humanity and the wilds of nature. Here, tigers stalk the captive and the free, while Death encounters his own double and Daphne tells of her new leaves, 'They sing, and make the world.' The same might be said of the poems themselves in this restless and memorable search for belonging.

The Best Australian Poems 2010 vibrates with correspondences. The images in some poems are reflected in others … until the individual poems begin to read like stanzas in some epic story of this country.' - Robert Adamson Selected by one of Australia's most acclaimed poets, this inspired collection captures the richness and scope of present - day Australian verse. It features innovative and exciting poems - many published here for the first time - from our best - known poets as well as daring and insightful works from rising stars. Together they create a lively sense of conversation, of voices criss - crossing the continent, exploring the many themes that animated and inspired the nation's poets in 2010. Contributors include: Chris Andrews, Judith Beveridge, Ken Bolton, Peter Boyle, David Brooks, Pam Brown, Joanne Burns, Elizabeth Campbell, Justin Clemens, Ali Cobby Eckermann, Luke Davies, Bruce Dawe, Laurie Duggan, Stephen Edgar, Anne Elvey, Lionel Fogarty, Lisa Gorton, Robert Gray, Martin Harrison, Kevin Hart, Barry Hill, Sarah Holland - Batt, L.K. Holt, Lisa Jacobson, John Kinsella, Anna Krien, Anthony Lawrence, Geoffrey Lehmann, Kate Lilley, Astrid Lorange, Roberta Lowing, Rhyll McMaster, Jennifer Maiden, Kate Middleton, Peter Minter, Derek Motion, Les Murray, Geoff Page, Peter Rose, Gig Ryan, Jaya Savige, Craig Sherborne, Vivian Smith, Peter Steele, John Tranter, Chris Wallace - Crabbe, Petra White and many more.

'What a rich, strange and diverse lot these poems turned out to be ... I suspect that these baroque and potent imaginings can only have come into existence as fragments of dreams or nightmares.' - John Tranter In "The Best Australian Poems 2011," celebrated poet John Tranter selects the most vigorous, varied and interesting poems of the last year. This sparkling collection shines a light on the phantasmagorical nature of poetry, evoking images, transformations and events that range from the playful to the melancholy by way of exuberance and satire. Featuring award-winning poems alongside brand-new works, as well as a mix of emerging and renowned poets, this is a volume of surreal beauty and emotional resonance. Poets include: Robert Adamson, Ali Alizadeh, Jude Aquilina, Ken Bolton, Pam Brown, joanne burns, Sarah Day, Bruce Dawe, Kate Fagan, Michael Farrell, Angela Gardner, Geoff Goodfellow, Lisa Gorton, Jennifer Harrison, Sarah Holland-Batt, Jill Jones, Cate Kennedy, Andy Kissane, Mike Ladd, Kate Lilley, Jennifer Maiden, David McCooey, Les Murray, Ouyang Yu, Felicity Plunkett, Peter Rose, Gig Ryan, Jaya Savige, Thomas Shapcott, Craig Sherborne, Pete Spence, Peter Steele, Maria Takolander, Andrew Taylor, Tim Thorne, Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Alan Wearne and many more...

In this book, the editor selects the most vigorous, varied and interesting poems of the last year. This sparkling collection shines a light on the phantasmagorial nature of poetry, evoking images, transformations and events that range from the playful to the melancholy by way of exuberance and satire.