‘Dear Muses? Essays in Poetry’ by Simon West

You are invited to the launch of ‘Dear Muses? Essays in Poetry’ by Simon West … a book of essays on Australian and Italian poetry, and especially on the presence of Classical and Renaissance literature in Australia today … Does it make sense to invoke the Muses today? Few of us believe our poems will be better for praying to stola-clad women sitting on a mountain in Greece. This book asks the reader to consider the Muse as something more – a vehicle for acknowledging cultural legacies that radiate out from the past and into contemporary Australia. SIMON WEST is the author of four collections of poetry and an edition of the Italian poet Guido Cavalcanti. He is represented in anthologies including ‘Thirty Australian Poets’ (UQP), ‘Young Poets: An Australian Anthology’ (John Leonard Press), and ‘Contemporary Australian Poetry’ (Puncher & Wattmann). His third book ‘The Ladder’ was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, and his most recent, ‘Carol and Ahoy’, was published in 2018. FREE EVENT.