Peter Porter Poetry Prize

Depends on the ordinary

by John Foulcher •

October 1993, no. 155

On My Empty Feet by Rhyll McMaster

WHA, $16.95 pb

The Catullan Rag by Peter Rose

Picador, $14.95 pb

Peter Porter Poetry Prize

Depends on the ordinary

by John Foulcher •

October 1993, no. 155

Both of these volumes of poetry claim to deal with the ordinary. Peter Rose’s publisher, Picador, states in its back-cover blurb that the author of The Catullan Rag chooses ‘to focus ... sharply on the urban, the everyday, the seemingly ordinary’, while Heinemann suggests that ‘McMaster has a sure ear for the rhythms of everyday speech’. In McMaster’s case it may be true, but Picador’s assessment of Rose, to me, seems far-fetched.

John Foulcher

John Foulcher has written eleven books of poetry, most recently 101 Poems (Pitt Street Poetry 2015), a selection from his previous books, and A Casual Penance (Pitt Street Poetry 2017). His work has appeared in Australian magazines and anthologies for more than thirty-five years, and he has received and been shortlisted for many awards. Poems from his first book, Light Pressure (Angus&Robertson 1983), were set for study on the New South Wales Higher School Certificate syllabus for ten years. In 2010–11 he was the Literature Board’s resident at the Keesing Studio in Paris. He divides his time between Canberra and an old Catholic church which he is renovating near the town of Braidwood in New South Wales. His books can be purchased from pittstreetpoetry.com.