The Best Australian Poems 2015

‘The human desire for patterned language is as strong as the need for narrative.’ —Geoff Page

In The Best Australian Poems 2015, you will find the who’s who of contemporary poets and the pick of new voices. Sometimes satirical, sometimes erotic, covering family, religion, war and mortality, Geoff Page’s selection celebrates the vital, the vigorous and the graceful voices that populate our poetry scene.

Robert Adamson • Jordie Albiston • Judith Beveridge • Eileen Chong • Joe Dolce • Lin Van Hek • Nigel Roberts • Robyn Rowland • Jennifer Compton • Kevin Hart • Lisa Gorton • Clive James • Rozanna Lilley • Tony Page • Michael Sharkey • Chris Wallace-Crabbe • Fiona Wright • Jakob Ziguras • Les Murray • Fay Zwicky • Jamie Grant • Lucy Dougan • Ali Cobby Eckermann • Kevin Brophy • Billy Marshall Stoneking • Bruce Dawe • Anne Elvey • Geoff Goodfellow • Jennifer Maiden • and many more …

‘As one reads, it feels as if there is a particular sense of loss, both past, present, and in prospect in this year’s poems. This may be because not that many of the poets seem to be under 40, or even 50, and consequently the mortality of the poets and their parents hangs, not heavily, but inescapably, over much of the book. For an Australian collection, it gives everything a surprisingly crepuscular, yet elegiac feel.’ —Sydney Morning Herald

Geoff Page has published nineteen collections of poetry as well as two novels, five verse novels and several other works, including anthologies, translations and a biography of the jazz musician Bernie McGann. He has won several awards, including the ACT Poetry Award, the Grace Leven Prize, the Christopher Brennan Award, the Queensland Premier’s Prize for Poetry and the 2001 Patrick White Literary Award.