An Interview & Review: The Garden Black by Frank Prem

Thank you so much for this lovely review and interview, Cage.

I’m delighted to have this baby awake in the world at last.

Cage Dunn - Fibber, Fabricator, Teller-of-Tall-Tales

Hello, Frank. I thoroughly enjoyed The Garden Black and I’m wondering what the inspiration behind each piece was, and how you created the relived moment?

Frank: All the poems in the Garden Black collection come from the same root – an idea of fantasy and broader speculation. They are also rooted in a mood – melancholy for the most part – and a particular piece of music that I relied on to help drive each new inspiration. Music that I played over in my head all the way through the writing.

Just digressing for a moment, here. The image I used for the for cover of The Garden Black was the last rose of the season remaining on a wild rose bush growing on the backyard fence-line of my home, here in Beechworth.

I exercise little control (too little really) over the images I use for most of my covers…

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Small Town Kid – a surprise review

Thank you Joy Neal Kidney for a wonderful review of Small Town Kid. It is so marvelous to find that these little stories of childhood in 1960s and 70s Australia resonate with readers in other countries - the United States, in this case. The price of this book in paperback format has dropped by a … Continue reading Small Town Kid – a surprise review

The Garden Black – 4 star review

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the footpathson lonsdale streetare deciduous thisis autumnand the colourshave begun to show yellows and brownsand reds remnant greens they falllike rainbowtwirls spinningleaf shapedaeroplanes anglingand twistingin flashesof colourto the ground the taxation office doorsrevolve aroundand around catching and exactinga quantity of leavesmid-flight expelling themacross the hard floorinside grateful contributionsfrom the streettoward the well-beingof the commonwealth there … Continue reading lonsdale street is deciduous (har har har)

not devastation (only canberra)

The construction site by night - 24/04/2022 tonight –on another planeof existence inanother world –a manchecks into an apartment a b&bin canberraaustralia it isa lovely place out he windowand acrossthe road . . . a construction site new apartmentsgoing upbutthe siteis a bitof a tidy mess equipment stashed neatly enoughbuteverywhere materialsand machinery from six floors … Continue reading not devastation (only canberra)

Sheep On The Somme – special for ANZAC Day

It is ANZAC day in Australia tomorrow (April 25th). Lest We Forget. Time to revisit my picture poetry book 'Sheep On The Somme'. Available through all online booksellers. Here is the universal link that will take you to some of them. Sheep On The Somme - 24/04/2022 I just took a peek on Amazon to … Continue reading Sheep On The Somme – special for ANZAC Day

a wonderful day (to feed a family)

mineis bananas some lettuce tomatoes saladfor a lightevening meal around meladen trolleys fly the supermarketis a big oneand busy the cityis new to me a visitor and slowly I noticethe manin front of meat the checkout I noticehis tomatoes I don’t usuallynoticeanother man’stomatoes he isa short man maybefrom a mediterraneangeographyby background maybe arabic it isof … Continue reading a wonderful day (to feed a family)

Travelling to Clunes Booktown

Clunes Booktown Have I mentioned Clunes Booktown before? I rather suspect I have. It is a mighty festival of all things books and bookselling and authoring and such. I helped man a tent selling Speculative Fiction books a few years back (2019, I think) and had a heck of a good time stopping people in … Continue reading Travelling to Clunes Booktown