Hidden Author
Which poets have most influenced you?
Shakespeare, Donne, Emily Brontë, Dickinson, Hopkins, Hardy, Rilke, Dylan Thomas, Roethke, Plath, Hughes, Heaney, Judith Wright.
Are poems ‘inspired’ or mainly the work of craft?
Both. Craft alone might produce what is called verse, but without an inspired element it would be dull. Inspiration alone might wing it, but can also be pretty dull for the re ... (read more)
To complement our popular ‘Books of the Year’ feature, to highlight ABR’s fast-expanding arts coverage, and to celebrate some excellent music, theatre, and film, we invited a group of critics and arts professionals to nominate some of their favourite productions of the year.
Robyn Archer
Dawn Upshaw’s concerts with the Australian Chamber Orchestra were staggeringly beautiful. Conceived ... (read more)
Our Annual Review showcases major highlights of ABR's publishing year and features key programs such as events, prizes, fellowships, and our philanthropy program.
ABR Annual Review 2018
ABR Annual Review 2017
ABR Annual Review 2016
ABR Annual Review 2015
ABR Annual Review 2014 ... (read more)
Why do you write?
Because it’s magic – it turns the frog of life into a prince. (Or is it the other way round?) And it is, as Wilde once said of smoking, so exquisitely unsatisfying. Actually, the real reason I write is that talking, either aloud or on paper, is the only thing I’m good at.
Are you a vivid dreamer?
In terms of colour, yes. Most of my dreams are very Le Grand Meaulnes, tho ... (read more)
‘Pure, incidental song’
Dear Editor,
Your readers cannot have failed to detect the unsympathetic undertone running through Susan Sheridan’s politely disengaged account of my edition of Lesbia Harford’s poetry (ABR, November 2014), culminating as it did in the cool injunction to visit the Poetry Library website. Those lines from ‘Mortal Poems’ (‘I think each year should bring / Litt ... (read more)
Performances of the year
We know how much our readers (not to mention nominated authors) enjoy our annual ‘Books of the Year’ feature. This year – to highlight ABR’s fast-expanding arts coverage (both in the magazine and in Arts Update on our website) and to celebrate outstanding film, theatre, dance, and music, we have invited key critics and professionals to nominate their favourite pro ... (read more)
Which poets have most influenced you?
Many. I admire Jeremy Prynne, Clark Coolidge, Mina Loy, and Lyn Hejinian, but I don’t know whether they have influenced my work. To limit this list in time somewhat: Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Eliot, Auden, Berryman, Ashbery, O’Hara. Among the Australians: Kenneth Slessor, Francis Webb, Michael Dransfield, John Tranter, Jennifer Maiden, Martin Johnston, John Fo ... (read more)
When did you first write for ABR?
It was 2001. A dual review of Malcolm Knox’s début novel, Summerland, and Steven Carroll’s The Art of the Engine Driver. Luckily, I was generous about these relatively unknown authors and their books, since both went on to become significant figures in Australian letters.
Which critics most impress you?
There are so many. Elizabeth Hardwick, the doyenne o ... (read more)
What is your favourite music?
Once again I am pleading 'no favourites', although I am always moved and astonished by Gavin Bryars’s 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet'. No, I’m not a Christian. Also, generally speaking, I am forbidden to sing.
What is your favourite book?
The longer I live, the harder it is to have a favourite anything. I admire the work of Thomas Bernhardt, Jean Rhys, Iris ... (read more)