To End All War Anthology (2018)

I am very happy that one of my poems has been included in the anthology To End All Wars. The book is published by Puncher & Wattmann and edited by Dael Allison, Anna Couani, Kit Kelen, and Les Wicks with a launch at The Shop Gallery in Sydney – 3 pm, Saturday 27 October – 112 Glebe Point Road, Glebe.

‘To End All Wars’ was a phrase applied hopefully during ‘The Great War’. Its various permutations were meant to suggest that this one might be the last war of all. How quickly the phrase became ironic. How many wars have followed! The words ‘to end all wars’ must remind us today that all armed conflict is a vast social catastrophe. The centenary of the World War I Armistice comes with a barely veiled triumphalism in the countries that were victorious one hundred years ago. It was that triumphalism, and the failed peace that followed it, which led onto new catastrophes in World War II and then the Cold War. Now, well into the 21st century, with ever uglier nationalisms raising their heads everywhere, it is time to critically examine the Armistice of one hundred years ago, and its meaning for Australia and for the world, then and now.

This collection contains work from Australasia’s leading poets, some of whom have made a particular focus on conflict like Jennifer Maiden & Geoff Page. But a clear goal from the beginning was to have a truly diverse collection to fully give the flavor of our society as it is now and the impact conflict has on it. This was in part achieved by an open call for submissions which yielded a number of valuable surprises which would have been otherwise overlooked.

An Earshot programme based on the anthology will air on Radio National Mon 5th November 11 am on Radio National, repeated Sat 10th November 1.30pm.

https://puncherandwattmann.com/books/book/to-end-all-wars

Cafe Poet at the Blackwattle – week five

Cette semaine : trois hommes souriants, une peinture de l’époque coloniale avec un pli dans le paysage et finalement Gelibolu, des soldats et des biscuits. | This week: three guys smiling, a colonial picture of Australia with a fold running in the middle of the landscape and Gelibolu, soldiers and biscuits.

May, 30 2013

Loosely based between Splish Splash (Valspar Paint) and Windsor Haze 560F-6 (Behr)
Librement inspiré des couleurs : Plouf Plouf (Valspar Paint) et Brouillard de Windsor 560F-6 (Behr)

May, 29 2013

Loosely based between Melted Copper / 1542 (Dunn-Edwards) and Laura Ashley 47-11 (Lucky Duck)
Librement inspiré des couleurs : Cuivre fondu / 1542 (Dunn-Edwards)et Laura Ashley 47-11 (Lucky Duck)

May, 24 2013

Loosely based between Payton’s Car KM3869-2 (Kelly-Moore) and Afternoon Tea / 80YR 21/226 (Devoe Paint)
Librement inspiré des couleurs : L’automobile de Payton KM3869-2 (Kelly-Moore) et Thé d’après-midi / 80YR 21/226 (Devoe Paint)

The Moss Theory – Book Launch (2012)

Here it is!

The book will be launched on May 26 at Chapters in Dieppe.
2 p.m. – 4 p. m.
499 Paul Dr Dieppe, NB
(506) 855-8075

The Moss Theory

Canada is at war and a new wave of patriotic infatuation has taken the country by storm.  Maplespring, a small town on the East Coast, is getting ready to honor one of its own, a fallen soldier who has died in Afghanistan.  As the remembrance ceremony gets under way, a peace march presents a profound disturbance.   This is soon followed by other events that test the limits of the population.  Fuelled by anger, a few old-timers from the Vietnam and the Korean Wars set out on a path that quickly leads into a downward spiral.

The Moss Theory (2012)

Here is the cover and content of my new book: The Moss Theory.  Published at the Basic Bruegel Editions, it should arrive in April (2012).  The story is based on two events that have occurred in New Brunswick and examine the emergence of a new patriotic attitude.