Last night Siobhan Hodge and I launched the Australian issue of Enchanting Verses, which was published in July. It was an exciting opportunity to co-edit this selection of diverse Australian poetic voices. At the launch at the Centre for Stories, Siobhan and I had a chat about the editing process and talked about highlights from our favourite poems. Amidst wine and cheese, we finished off the evening with readings from Jenny, Alan, Kate, Priya, Scott-Mitchell, and Rita.
The Enchanting Verses Literary Review started its journey in March 2008 with the name The Enchanting Verses International with an aim to publish quality poetry and other works related to poetry. Over the past few years the journal has emerged as one of the finest literary magazines of the world with contributors from all over the globe.
An excerpt from our editorial: ‘Amongst this issue, many of our chosen poets deliver strongly immediate and personal themes. For example, Jenny Hetherington draws heavily on memory to present poems which are equal parts endearing, humorous and beautifully eloquent. Scott-Patrick Mitchell’s prosodic poems showcase flashes of intense emotional engagement, their sharpness is tempered by their conversational immediacy. Likewise, the apparent simplicity of Eileen Chong’s sensory verse belies the ideological concerns within. Priya Kahlon’s spare, poignant storytelling contrasts with the linguistic density of Nicole Sellers’ lyric mode, while Nadia Rhook and Robert Wood explore the quotidian with a similar attentiveness to the concrete. Significant personal experiences lend immediacy and an articulate sense of human connection in these works.’
You can read the full editorial and issue here.
Above: Siobhan and I at the Enchanting Verses launch.
Amy Lin 