Selected Poems
Jordie Albiston’s Selected Poems presents for the first time the full range of her impressive achievement: her accomplished use of traditional forms, her innovation with syllabic forms and the nearness to music of much of her work. Her premature and sudden death in 2022 robbed Australia of one of its leading poets. Her Selected Poems celebrates the achievement of one of our most extraordinary poets.
'Albiston's poetry has long been fascinating to me, for her beautifully cadenced lyrics as much as for the classical elegance of her historical work.' – Michael Sharkey, Island
'Jack & Mollie (& Her) is triumphantly experimental in both technique and content…an important book by a leading Australian poet.' – Geoff Page, Australian Book Review
'While [the periodic table] may seem like an unorthodox method of writing a love poem, the results are explosive.' – Sarah Holland-Batt, The Australian
'Jordie Albiston’s poems slide through linguistic associations, etymologies, histories and locations. They establish a scale that is at once both atomic and cosmic, harnessing those minutely observed details of elemental love alongside the vast, world-altering consequences of emotional and chemical states.' – Judges' Report, 2021 NSW Premier's Literary Awards
Jordie Albiston has published thirteen poetry collections and a handbook on poetic form. Two of her books have been adapted for opera, both enjoying seasons at the Sydney Opera House. Albiston's poetry has been recognised by prizes including the Mary Gilmore Award, the NSW Premier's Prize, the John Bray Poetry Award and the Patrick White Literary Award. She has worked under Fellowships at the State Library of Victoria, the National Library (Canberra) and the Jamieson Library (Cornwall, UK).
Albiston works within formal boundaries: traditional, experimental, or self-imposed. She seeks the musical cadence while endeavouring to exact a mathematical sense of existence. She lives in Melbourne.
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