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‘Might be long long time’

A mixed anthology of trans-Tasman poetry
by
August 2022, no. 445

The Language in My Tongue: An anthology of Australian and New Zealand poetry edited by Cassandra Atherton and Paul Hetherington

FarFlung Editions, US$21.95 pb, 215 pp

‘Might be long long time’

A mixed anthology of trans-Tasman poetry
by
August 2022, no. 445

There’s an old Irish saying: ‘If you want praise, die. If you want blame, marry.’ I could add from personal experience, ‘If you really want blame, edit a poetry anthology.’ While poetry is relatively popular, it often seems that more people write it than read it. As a result, poets can be desperate for affirmation and recognition, managing their careers more jealously than investment bankers. What too often gets lost in all the log-rolling and back-scratching is the poetry. We turn to anthologies for help, hoping to find in small, palatable doses good poets we can choose to read in depth. We find anthologies representing nations or geographical regions, literary periods, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations, forms, categories like postmodernism, post-colonialism, eco-poetry, and themes like love or madness.

David Mason reviews 'The Language in My Tongue: An anthology of Australian and New Zealand poetry' edited by Cassandra Atherton and Paul Hetherington

The Language in My Tongue: An anthology of Australian and New Zealand poetry

edited by Cassandra Atherton and Paul Hetherington

FarFlung Editions, US$21.95 pb, 215 pp

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