Published October 07, 2014
Professors Jack Heflin and William Ryan from the English Department at the University
of the Louisiana at Monroe have produced the second volume in a series of international
anthologies鈥斺�淭he turnrow Anthology of Contemporary Australian Poetry.鈥�
Heflin and Ryan co-direct the university鈥檚 creative writing program. The first anthology,
鈥淓leven Contemporary Chinese Writers,鈥� appeared in 2010. Both projects grew out of
their interest in international literatures featured in 鈥渢urnrow, a Journal of the
Arts,鈥� which they edited from 2001-2009.
Published by Desperation Press and turnrow Books, 鈥淭he turnrow Anthology of Contemporary
Australian Poetry,鈥� is edited by John Kinsella, author of more than thirty books of
poetry and editor of several anthologies, including 鈥淭he Penguin Anthology of Australian
Poetry鈥� (2008).
The Australian anthology boasts 600 pages of works from 123 poets, and marks the largest
American publication of contemporary Australian poetry to date.
According to Heflin, the collection is both inclusive and diverse, and representative
of both the major award winning poets of the country and its younger poets who have
published only one or two books of poetry.
Readers will recognize a variety of styles and attitudes in the collection; they will
find poems which might be labeled as formalist, innovative, confessional, political,
pastoral, lyrical, narrative, and those poems which reflect a 鈥渘ew hybridization and
hybridity鈥� of these styles.
In his introduction 鈥淭erritories of Paradox and Resolution,鈥� Kinsella comments upon
the ethnic and cultural diversity of Australian poetry and the lack of a monolithic
poetic that governs this nation鈥檚, or any nation鈥檚, literature.
鈥淚 wanted then to select 鈥榙own,鈥� to create the diverse and sometimes contradictory
conversations which I feel are necessary to show 鈥榦utsiders鈥� the complexities of the
many aspects and angles of 鈥楢ustralian鈥� poetry,鈥� said Kinsella.
The anthology includes poets who have lived their entire lives in Australia, indigenous
poets, poets who have emigrated to Australia, and poets who now live in countries
other than Australia. What this collection presents, Kinsella states, is 鈥渙ne part鈥攁nother
piece鈥攐f a jigsaw of contemporary world poetry.鈥�
That the anthology is published in Louisiana is significant. Of all the books published
in the United States last year, only three percent were of foreign origin. Desperation
Press and turnrow Books are committed to expanding the dialogue between American literature
and the literatures of the world. It is available on Amazon and from a variety of
major book distributors at a cost of $35.
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