Pocket poetry series from Flying Islands Books – grab a bundle

Check out these gorgeous books of poetry from Flying Islands/Cerebus books/ASM:

They are so delicious to look at and hold — and do indeed fit into a pocket. Although I like to keep mine on a shelf in my kitchen so I can dip in while waiting for the kettle to boil.

Beautiful production with silky covers, contrasting endpapers and satisfyingly creamy paper, with series design by Kit Kelen and Chris Song Zijiang.

And such a great selection of poets. Published so far are pocket books by Pam Brown, Anna Couani, Kit (Christopher) Kelen, Alan Jefferies, Rae Desmond Jones, Greg McLaren (pictured above) plus John Bennet and Phillip Hammial.

Some of these editions are bilingual – Chinese and English – and I am feeling very fortunate to have been invited to be a part of this series.

Last month I met with Kit Kelen, who is the publisher and series editor (and Professor at Macao University), together with my translator Ruby Chen, who flew out from China to meet and work with the poets she is translating. We spent a day workshopping the translations and choosing the final selection. Such a fascinating experience.

This ongoing project has so many cultural benefits and thoroughly deserves support if you know an organisation or benefactor that might be able to help with some funding.

Books in the pipeline for the Pocket series include a new collection by Richard James Allen (out later in the year), and bilingual collections by Dan Disney, Jean Kent and Judy Johnson (also out soon), Mark Treddinick, Jan Dean, Phillip Salom, Les Murray and myself.

There’s also a batch coming up by five West Australian poets, and one from Macao poet Papa Osmubal.

Contact Kit or Flying Islands if you have funding suggestions, or if you want to order the books — affordable enough to grab a bunch of them, and great for school or uni libraries.

And there’s also a paypal button at the site if you’d like to be a much-appreciated patron of these arts.

**Update: October 2015 — my pocket collection,  The Party of Life,  is now available and will be launched in Sydney, upstairs at The Friend in Hand pub corner of Cowper and Queen Streets Glebe, on Saturday 14th November at 2.30 for 3pm — all welcome.