Australian poetry is having a moment

SPOTLIGHT | A time for rhyme?

Evelyn Araluen’s Dropbear collection sold 15,000-plus copies - an exception in terms of poetry readership.Credit: Scott McNaughton / The Age

For those whose poetry knowledge begins and ends with “There was movement at the station”, it might come as a surprise to learn that Australian poetry is having a moment. A small one, but a moment nonetheless. Exhibit one: the Stella Prize, Australia’s richest literary award for women and non-binary writers. It welcomed poetry applications for the first time in 2022 and poets have claimed it both years since. Bundjalung writer and scholar Evelyn Araluen’s (pictured) much-celebrated debut collection, Dropbear (University of Queensland Press) – which went on to sell a very respectable 15,000-plus copies – came first and was followed, in April this year, by Queenslander Sarah Holland-Batt’s The Jaguar (UQP again).

Then there’s the proliferation of presses: 36 are listed in Poetry Sydney’s Australian Poetry Publishers directory. Alongside big names UQP and Fremantle Press, outfits such as Giramondo, Vagabond Press and Pitt Street Poetry are consistent champions of local poets; Giramondo plans to publish new collections by the likes of Kate Fagan and Hasib Hourani in 2024.

Meanwhile, journals such as Cordite, Rabbit and HEAT are host to both emerging and established Australian poets, the first two also publishing through their book ranges. “There’s no doubt that a new generation of poets is coming through,” says Ivor Indyk, publisher at Giramondo. “They’re more diverse, less constrained in their attitude to form, and more performance-oriented than before.”

But, as he notes, poets in Australia suffer the same problem as poets everywhere: they’re just not being read enough. “What we really need,” Indyk says, “is more readers.” Deborah Cooke

WATCH / Light show

Netflix’s adaptation of All the Light We Cannot See may not scale the heights of the novel, but it’s still highly watchable.

Let’s get one thing out of the way. As miniseries adaptations go, Netflix’s All the Light We Cannot See doesn’t quite match the high art of Anthony Doerr’s novel of the same name, which won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It’s a tough call converting a feted novel, one that took 10 years to write, into a four-part series. Yes, plot trajectories have been modified and the sentimentality dial turned up, but it’s still highly watchable and gorgeously haunting.

It’s August 1944 in the coastal walled city of Saint-Malo in France, which is being shelled by the Americans to root out the last Nazi units. A blind girl, Marie-Laure LeBlanc, is sending out coded military coordinates to the Allies via her nightly radio reads from the Braille versions of classic novels. The Nazis are desperate to track her down and so enlist the help of a brilliant young German radio technician, Werner Pfennig, who nonetheless tries to keep her location secret. As children, Werner and Marie listened to the same science professor, who preached humanity and truth instead of propaganda. Throw in Marie having possession of a sought-after diamond, the Sea of Flames, symbolising human desire for power, and you have a drama peppered with cliffhangers that will have you pushing the binge button on your remote. Greg Callaghan

READ / Modern love

Dolly Alderton’s Good Material balances humour, relatability and wryness.Credit: Jennifer Soo

Search no further: your perfect summer read is here. While nothing will quite compare to her heart-warming (and -breaking) memoir Everything I Know About Love, Dolly Alderton’s second novel, Good Material ($35), is, well, just that. Andy, a struggling comedian in his mid-30s, is unexpectedly kicked to the curb by his long-term girlfriend. Now he must start again – that’s if he can quit his Instagram-stalking habit. As with all of Alderton’s writing, this is a perfect balance of humour, relatability and wryness. Throw Good Material in your beach bag and just bathe in its sunshine. Melanie Kembrey

LISTEN / Cult favourite

Crime podcasting, like crime writing, is a competitive field. So, too, is the opaque world of cults, which are catnip to many a true-crime fan. It’s a feather in the investigative cap of Good Weekend writer Tim Elliott, then, that his podcast Inside the Tribe won 2023’s Best True Crime podcast at last month’s Australian Podcast Awards. Created by Elliott and freelance producer Camille Bianchi, the 11-part series explores a shadowy Christian sect called the Twelve Tribes and examines, among other things, how its enigmatic leader, Gene Spriggs, built a global network of devotees, stretching from Chattanooga to Sydney, out of the wreckage of 1970s counterculture. The series, which has had more than 1.7 million downloads since launching in 2022, is a wild ride through a world of fraud, kidnapping and double identities, one where good people turn bad in their search for meaning. Tune in.

WEAR / Easy, tiger

Husk’s printed tee fits into day and night wear.

Animal print and tie-dye are two holiday tropes that can scream “package tour” when done to extremes, but plenty of Aussie brands are successfully blurring the line between both looks for a result that’s the very essence of resort chic. Pair this Husk printed tee ($229) with sneakers and a utility skirt or cargo pants – another summer trend – for an elevated daytime look, or with jeans and sparkly heels for nocturnal prowls. Melissa Singer

STAY / Adult entertainment

The former Byron Motor Lodge has been recast and refitted as boutique hotel The Swell.

It takes a lot of vision and some creative bravery to turn a budget motel into a boutique property, but the people behind The Swell in Byron Bay, on NSW’s far north coast, evidently have the right stuff. The Swell, which opened in October, is a 16-room, adults-only hotel built on the bones of the old Byron Motor Lodge in Butler Street.

Aussie designer Nyree Mackenzie kept the best of the old motel – the functional layout, the informal vibe – while recasting the rest in a soothing, retro-luxe style to produce a rich blend of caramel-coloured interiors, thatched umbrellas, velvet ’70s sofas and iridescent-green gardens. The rooms are large with sisal mats and hand-carved timber side tables, while the pool has an open-air bar and separate spa area featuring a cute sauna and an ice bath. There’s also a vintage caravan serving coffee and juice. It’s all very Palm Springs-meets-Tulum-meets-Morocco-meets-Bali-meets … well, Byron Bay. There’s a lot going on, but somehow it works, mainly because it’s fun. The Swell doesn’t take itself too seriously and, when on holiday, neither should you (from $400 a night). Tim Elliott

TRACK / Catching code

The Fetch’d smart tag can tackle the panic over a missing furry friend.

Help your furry friend find his way home – or to a nominated vet – with Fetch’d Smart Tag and Pawsport ($50). Each time his weatherproof tag is scanned by a smartphone, the QR code engraved on it shares important information with his rescuer – his name, your contact number and his vet’s details – while simultaneously notifying you of his real-time GPS location. You can also share your pet’s Pawsport details on social media: mark your pet as missing and Fetch’d users within a 10-kilometre radius will be notified to keep an eye out. No subscriptions, no batteries, just the paw-fect tag to reunite you with your roving best friend. Frances Mocnik

PLAY / Ring in the new

Digital screens are transforming how operas are staged.

Just as Sydney Theatre Company artistic director Kip Williams showed how theatre can adapt to our digital times with his thrilling production of The Picture of Dorian Gray (now London-bound) so, too, Chinese-American director Chen Shi-Zheng has transformed Wagner’s epic The Ring Cycle through the use of digital screens. Chen’s interpretation for Opera Australia (now showing at Brisbane’s Queensland Performing Arts Centre until December 21) forgoes much of the traditional, four-opera set in favour of 23 large screens on which mostly abstract, moving images appear, creating atmosphere and meaning as the singers in front of them tell the tale of gods and dwarves, love and fighting, life and death. The risk is to overuse such a device but, in Chen’s hands, the digital creations of Berlin-based video designer Leigh Sachwitz illuminate more than distract. It’s been a long time coming: this production was slated for 2020 before a certain pandemic intervened, rescheduled for 2021, only to be pulled again by the return of a COVID-shaped virus. If standing ovations are any indication, Ring Nuts – as those who tour the world for new Ring productions have been dubbed – are mad for it (tickets from $165). Katrina Strickland

LISTEN / Spin doctors

Impressed Recordings’ Jonno Seidler is helping give the vinyl revival an Australian twist.

Now that the vinyl revival is in full swing, you’re regretting getting rid of your record collection when CDs took over, aren’t you? Enter Impressed Recordings, offering bespoke releases on heavyweight, 180-gram vinyl, pressed with a quick turnaround by Brisbane’s Suitcase Records. “There’s been an explosion in vinyl over the past decade, but we found the experience of producing and buying records in Australia was lacking,” says creative director Jonno Seidler. “We wanted to change that for both artists and consumers.” Impressed plans to release about 10 records a month; among the first will be the debut LP of Alexander Gow (formerly of indie band Oh Mercy) and the first two albums by future-soul artist Ngaiire. Each limited release is hand-numbered and contains an essay by a music journalist (from $45). Barry Divola

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