BACKGROUND:

The poems in this selection of new work began when the Covid 19 pandemic was first announced. A number of the poems were written quickly in response to media reports of where and how the virus may have began; other poems were written slowly, with details being added as more knowledge came to hand. Inspiration for these poems had a number of sources, with one essential spark coming from the work of the late Thom Gunn, whose poems in 'The Man With the Night Sweats' dealt with the Aids Virus. Behind many of these poems was a need, artistic and personal, to come to terms with a new way of living in the world with a deadly virus circulating.

CONTRIBUTION:

As with many poems, published individually or in book form, these Corona 19 - inspired poems have the natural world as both their background and vital stage on which the physical and psychological drama this pandemic has caused, is played out. The poems invite a close reading of how humans, under extended pressure due to lockdowns and work-related issues, turn to the natural world for relief from stress and to find essential, physical interactions.

SIGNIFICANCE:

The significance of this research and the resulting poems can be seen in the publication in a number of leading journals, and the public reading, which is tantamount to publication, at a major regional festival. One poem, 'Mapping the Past,' was Highly Commended in the Moth International poetry prize, and another 'Rowing Out to Check the Traps' was broadcast live on ABC Radio National. Further evidence of excellence can be seen in their inclusion in a new manuscript of poetry, 'Elsewhere,' forthcoming from 'Life Before Man' press in 2022. A chapbook containing the Covid-19 poems, 'Rowing Out to Check the Traps,' is to be published as a numbered and signed, limited edition, early in 2022. The State Library of Victoria, through its manuscript section, is also publishing a number of these poems in a small letterpress edition in 2022.