A Woman Talks to Her Tongue (Alison Gorman)

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New Works

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Shrove Tuesday (Lucas Smith)

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THE GRAND REOPENING and THE BLESSED AFFLICTION (Toby Davidson and Mark Reid)

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Wax and Wane: three poems (Peter Mitchell)

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Pacing the Stage (Deborah Conway)

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Iconoclast
May 2025
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Iconoclast
May 2025

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The Australian literary scene and beyond is under attack. Tune in to our podcast, where poets Magan Magan and Michele Seminara explore the hostile nature of woke ideology and its attack on freedom of expression in the arts.

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Tune in to the UNpersoned Podcast where editor Michele Seminara unpacks what's happening in the arts and literary scenes with guests from Australia and around the world. 
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The Vault
  • The Gift (Peter Farrar)The Gift (Peter Farrar)
    (Edited by Laura McPhee-Browne) Bushfire smoke tasted in rain. I opened my mouth. Rain tingled, drying on my tongue the way it did on concrete. I stopped at the rear ... Read More
  • A Series of Scenarios in the Place of the Mad <br>(Colin Hambrook) </br>A Series of Scenarios in the Place of the Mad <br>(Colin Hambrook) </br>
    Fish Eye and The Mirror  He is thrown into a gap, down to the centre of the earth, opening like a womb down to the core of creation. And all ... Read More
  • Java Suite (Mike Ladd)Java Suite (Mike Ladd)
    Under the transmitter towers a papaya garden receiving rain. A thousand silent swallows came. From you, no message. Feeling for the right stone in opaque water — fish-trap building. Banana tree — ... Read More
  • An Interview With Saddiq Dzukogi: Your Crib, My QiblaAn Interview With Saddiq Dzukogi: Your Crib, My Qibla
    Saddiq Dzukogi with Verity La Poetry Editors Michele Seminara and Robbie Coburn Wineglass When your mother found strands of your hair hung up in the teeth of your comb, your ... Read More
  • How to Fall out of a Pine Tree (Nathanael O’Reilly)How to Fall out of a Pine Tree (Nathanael O’Reilly)
    Select the tallest tree in the backyard and reach up with both hands grasp the lowest branch place your right foot against the trunk at waist-height support your weight with ... Read More
The Vault
  • Mad Poets Workshop Winners: The Wollongong Writers FestivalMad Poets Workshop Winners: The Wollongong Writers Festival
    Spinning By Kyra Thomsen  I spin myself into a frenzy legs lurching in and out like a spider building a web unravelling my inner-silk exposing my underbelly. The tea is ... Read More
  • Spirit of Renewal Poetry ReadingSpirit of Renewal Poetry Reading
    Welcome to SPIRIT OF RENEWAL, the Manly Art Gallery and Museum Poetry Alive Reading. This annual event, a synergy of art and poetry, is now in its 7th year. In ... Read More
  • Little Key (Judy Johnson)Little Key (Judy Johnson)
    It could be almost anywhere                      in the Middle East. The result of war or famine                or ... Read More
  • The Tea Ceremony (Indigo Perry)The Tea Ceremony (Indigo Perry)
    Once, after he’d confessed to another indiscretion, she got up and ran from the riverbank. When she reached the highway, she slowed down and walked, heartbeat steady by the time ... Read More
  • Monostich for a time of resistance (Amanda Anastasi)Monostich for a time of resistance (Amanda Anastasi)
    Within the tyrant, a tripped over child. The stuck are full of words. The mirror reveals my first and last enemy. Most robbers come bearing gifts. First the shrinking waves, ... Read More