ANZ LitLovers LitBlog

intToday I am privileged to not only present my review of Michael Farrell’s “Cocky’s Joy” but I also had the opportunity to interview Michael about his book and his upcoming plans. A larger than usual post, but for a special book it is more than deserved. I personally hope that tomorrow night, when the winners of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards are announced, Michael Farrell brings home the $80,000 (tax free) prize for poetry.

My final review from the 2016 Prime Minister’s Literary Award Shortlist for Poetry is Michael Farrell’s “Cocky’s Joy”, thirty-nine poems that are a rollicking insane journey though whitefella Australian history, recent, imagined and since colonisation.

From the very first line of the very first poem you know that this collection is not your standard fare, “two anchovies; a bowl of milk; fried crumpet”. The second poem, “Making Love (To A Man)’ featuring homosexual sex and…