Best Australian Poems 2011

Well, the cat is out of the bag (hat tip, Jill Jones) but I’m very pleased to say that my poem ‘Cute’ (read it here, or here) has been selected for inclusion in Black Inc.’s Best Australian Poems 2011. This year’s editor is John Tranter, who writes “I suspect that these baroque and potent imaginings can only have come into existence as fragments of dreams or nightmares.”

Of course I’m chuffed – I’ve tried and failed on many occasions to submit works to this anthology. A brief look at the contributor list alerts me to the fact that this year’s selection is perhaps a little more streamlined than previous editions. I’m really pleased to be in such good company. I only wish that UQP’s Best Australian Poetry series hadn’t bitten the dust.

Unlike its Black Inc. cousin, UQP’s BAP was compiled on the basis of poems published in journals in the previous year, lending it the air of a true ‘Best of’ rather than a survey based upon submissions and solicited works. But then I guess everyone has their own opinion about this issue, and if I was to be really honest, I’d admit that ‘Cute’ would probably never have made it into the UQP anthology, given that it was first published online in the UK.

Anyway, I’m now going to pop open a bottle of champagne, and bask in the refracted glory.

As you were.