Contents
writing+art
unfurl /7 image by Ryota Hisanabe.
Tag: Poetry
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Australian arts on the internet in 2025
- Australian Poetry
- Australian Painters
- Australian Artists
- Patrick White
- Review articles of Australian poetry and poets
- Literature, Commentary & Cultural Review
- Academic & University-Affiliated Journals
- Visual Arts News & Criticism
- Poetry specific
- Performing Arts (Theatre, Music, Opera)
Australian Poetry
The past year has celebrated established mastery and urgent new voices, with David Brooks claiming the Prime Minister’s Literary Award. The sector also saw the release of the Best of Australian Poems 2025 anthology and a vibrant Poetry Month program fostering community engagement.
- David Brooks wins the 2025 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Poetry
The $80,000 prize was awarded for his collection The Other Side of Daylight, praised for its profound literary contribution. - Release of the Best of Australian Poems 2025 Anthology
Edited by Nam Le and Jill Jones, this annual collection captures the diversity of the nation’s poetic output. - Evelyn Araluen releases new collection The Rot
The Stella Prize-winning author’s latest work explores the dying days of late-stage capitalism and settler colonial violence. - Red Room Poetry’s 2025 Poetry Month Festival
The August festival featured events like the Poem Forest Prize and the National Poetry Month Gala in Sydney. - ACT Literary Awards 2025 Winners Announced
Winners included Alisha Brown for the Finding Beauty Poetry Prize, celebrating emerging talent in the region.
Australian Painters
The 2025 awards season saw Julie Fragar and Jude Rae recognised for their exceptional portraiture and landscape work respectively. Major institutions also celebrated historical figures, with the National Gallery of Australia launching comprehensive retrospectives of modernist painters Ethel Carrick and Anne Dangar.
- Julie Fragar wins the 2025 Archibald Prize
The Brisbane artist won for Flagship Mother Multiverse (Justene), a portrait of her friend and fellow artist Justene Williams. - Jude Rae wins the 2025 Wynne Prize
Rae was awarded $50,000 for her landscape painting Pre-dawn sky over Port Botany container terminal. - Ethel Carrick and Anne Dangar Retrospectives at NGA
The National Gallery of Australia celebrates these two influential modernist painters with a major double exhibition. - Tony Albert named Artistic Director for Indigenous Triennial
The renowned painter and mixed-media artist led the curation of the 5th National Indigenous Art Triennial. - Vincent Namatjira features in After the Rain
The celebrated portraitist presented a series of intimate works for the Triennial, honouring fellow participating artists. - Arthur Boyd’s Artwork Returns to Bundanon
A major work by the celebrated painter has been loaned from the National Gallery to his former residence in NSW.
Australian Artists
The visual arts landscape was defined by the opening of the 5th National Indigenous Art Triennial and significant prize announcements. First Nations sovereignty and connection to Country were central themes, while contemporary artists like Gene A’Hern and Jonathan Jones received acclaim for their site-specific and abstract works.
- Opening of the 5th National Indigenous Art Triennial: After the Rain
This major exhibition features 10 immersive installations by First Nations artists, celebrating culture and resilience. - Gene A’Hern wins the 2025 Sulman Prize
A’Hern was awarded $40,000 for Sky painting, a bold gestural work inspired by the Blue Mountains. - Jonathan Jones featured in Bagan Bariwariganyan at Bundanon
Jones’s work appears alongside Aunty Julie Freeman in an exhibition exploring stories of the Gweagal and Wandiwandian peoples. - Alair Pambegan’s Flying Fox Installation
The artist created a suspended installation of over 500 flying foxes using traditional ochre for the Triennial. - Warraba Weatherall’s Mother-Tongue Installation
Weatherall presented a powerful new work exploring the relationship between body, language, and cultural heritage. - Ocean Photographer of the Year Exhibition
The Australian National Maritime Museum toured this exhibition to Bundanon, showcasing stunning aquatic photography.
Patrick White
Focus on Patrick White has been renewed through the prestigious literary award named in his honour, won this year by David Brooks. The playwrights’ award also recognised new talent, while fresh critical scholarship continues to examine White’s complex legacy and “dilemmas” in contemporary Australian culture.
- David Brooks wins the 2025 Patrick White Literary Award
The author received the $20,000 prize recognising his profound lifelong contribution to Australian literature and poetry. - Karolina Ristevski wins the 25th Patrick White Playwrights Award
Ristevski won for her play River Was Here, described as an accomplished and devastating portrait of human trauma. - New Book: On Patrick White’s Dilemmas by Vrasidas Karalis
A new critical work explores White’s “vernacular orality” and his status as a singular, uncompromising literary figure. - Nicholas Jose Essay: “Can we not live with Patrick White any longer?”
Jose reviews Karalis’s book and discusses the fading public memory of White’s image versus his enduring literary power. - Sydney Theatre Company celebrates 25 years of Playwrights Award
The 2025 ceremony honoured the award’s history of fostering new Australian drama in White’s name. - Patrick White’s Legacy in Environmental Thought
Judges cited White’s influence when awarding David Brooks, noting the shared thematic depth regarding nature and animals.
Review articles of Australian poetry and poets
- Guardian Review of Evelyn Araluen’s The Rot
Critics described the collection as a “fever dream” with an icily cold vision of injustice and capitalist decay. - The Guardian’s “Best Poetry Books of 2025”
The list highlights notable collections that pushed the boundaries of the form, including works by diverse Australian voices. - Review of The Other Side of Daylight by David Brooks
Praised for its “extraordinary care,” the book was celebrated for traversing histories of gender and nature with lyrical depth. - UWA Experts Share Best Books of 2025
Academic critics selected Evelyn Araluen’s The Rot as a standout text for its “unbearable complex tensions.” - Review of Best of Australian Poems 2025
The anthology is described as a “poetic snapshot” and barometer of the year, amplifying a diverse range of voices.
Literature, Commentary & Cultural Review
Australian Book Review (ABR)
Australia’s premier critical magazine, offering reviews, essays, commentaries, and new creative writing.
Editor: Peter Rose
https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/Sydney Review of Books (SRB)
A dedicated online literary journal focusing on long-form criticism and essays.
Editor: James Ley
https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/Meanjin
Now defunct.
https://meanjin.com.au/The Monthly
A national magazine covering politics, society, and the arts, featuring long-form journalism and reviews.
Editor: Michael Williams
https://www.themonthly.com.au/Inside Story
An independent news and current affairs site featuring strong arts and culture analysis.
Editor: Peter Clarke
https://insidestory.org.au/Island Magazine
A premium literary magazine from Tasmania that publishes high-quality fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Editorial Manager: Jane Rawson
https://islandmag.com/Mascara Literary Review
A bi-annual journal focusing on contemporary writing by First Nations, culturally diverse, and neurodivergent artists.
Artistic Director: Michelle Cahill
https://www.mascarareview.com/Rochford Street Review
An independent online journal reviewing Australian literature, poetry, and small-press publications.
Editors: Mark Roberts and Linda Adair
https://rochfordstreetreview.com/Peril Magazine
An Asian-Australian arts and culture magazine publishing poetry, prose, and visual arts with a focus on diverse perspectives.
Chairperson: Lian Low
https://peril.com.au/
Academic & University-Affiliated Journals
Griffith Review
Operating out of Griffith University, this quarterly features public intellectual essays, reportage, and creative writing.
Editor: Carina Garland
https://www.griffithreview.com/Westerly Magazine
Based at the University of Western Australia, this journal publishes fiction, poetry, and essays with a focus on WA and Asia.
General Editor: Daniel Juckes
https://westerlymag.com.au/Southerly
One of Australia’s oldest literary journals, published by the English Association (Sydney).
Editor: Elizabeth McMahon
https://southerlyjournal.com.au/Axon: Creative Explorations
Published by the University of Canberra, this open-access journal focuses on poetry and creative practice-led research.
Editors: Jen Webb and Paul Hetherington
https://axonjournal.com.au/TEXT: Journal of Writing and Writing Courses
The journal of the Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP), publishing scholarly articles on creative writing.
Managing Editors: Julienne van Loon and Ross Watkins
https://textjournal.scholasticahq.com/
Visual Arts News & Criticism
Art Monthly Australasia
The region’s flagship visual arts publication, providing critical discourse and exhibition reviews.
Editor: Michael Fitzgerald
https://www.artmonthly.org.au/Art Almanac
A monthly guide to galleries, news, and awards, serving as the essential “gallery guide” for the industry.
Editor: Melissa Pesa
https://www.art-almanac.com.au/ArtsHub
The primary trade publication for the Australian arts industry, covering news, jobs, and policy.
Content Director: George Dunford
https://www.artshub.com.au/Artist Profile
Focuses on the artists themselves, featuring in-depth studio interviews and photographic profiles.
Editor: Kon Gouriotis
https://artistprofile.com.au/Memo Review
Australia’s only weekly online review dedicated strictly to visual art exhibitions (primarily Melbourne/Sydney).
Editorial Team: Rotating academic and critic collective
https://memoreview.net/Runway Journal
An open-access digital platform for experimental art and criticism, managed by a rotating board of artists.
Co-Chairs (2025): Ena Grozdanic and Athanasios Lazarou
https://runway.org.au/un Projects (un Magazine)
An independent platform for contemporary art criticism, focusing on local dialogue and artist-led discourse.
Editor: Rotating guest editors per issue
https://unprojects.org.au/
Poetry specific
Cordite Poetry Review
A comprehensive online journal for Australian and international poetry and criticism.
Editor: Kent MacCarter
http://cordite.org.au/Australian Poetry Journal
The flagship publication of the national poetry body, publishing contemporary poems and critical essays.
Editor: Jacinta Le Plastrier (Publisher)
https://www.australianpoetry.org/
Performing Arts (Theatre, Music, Opera)
Limelight
Australia’s leading independent magazine for classical music, opera, and the performing arts.
Editor: Jo Litson
https://limelightmagazine.com.au/Australian Stage
Provides reviews and news covering theatre, opera, dance, and musicals across major capital cities.
Editor: Review team based
https://www.australianstage.com.au/
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Joyce Lee
It is nearly dark when I come to the Indian Ocean
Joyce Lee’s It is nearly dark when I come to the Indian Ocean, her collected works 1965–2003, was published by Stephen J. Williams in 2003. There is an introduction by Chris Wallace-Crabbe. Lee died in 2007.
The complete book is also available on the National Library of Australia’s TROVE.
Joyce Lee (c.1996) Stephen J. Williams -
An artificial intelligence poetry review
Les Wicks’ Time Taken
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in creative fields, including literary analysis. Here is a review of Les Wicks’ Time Taken, a new and selected book of poems published in 2025. The review is written and presented in the form of a podcast by artificial intelligence hosts.
I intentionally left the review unedited; my only intervention was to customize the tone to be adopted by the fictional hosts and to require them to quote extensively from the actual poems.
This experiment is published with permission of Les Wicks. This AI review contains several significant errors. Quotations are sometimes wrong, interpretations sometimes wrong, and the dialogue is annoyingly repetitive; but what do we expect? It’s made by a computer algorithm.
The process yields a linguistic analysis of a text’s themes, based simply on the words and phrases used in it. I’ve included some of this analysis in the notes to the video.
—Stephen J. Williams
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Steep Curve by Robyn Rowland
Book launch
Excelsior Hall,
Thirroul Community Centre
352/358 Lawrence Hargrave Drive,
Thirroul
3:00 pm Saturday, November 9 2024Sislands invites you to join us for the launch of Robyn Rowland’s latest book by celebrated poet, John Foulcher.
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UNFURL Anne Casey | podcast
Anne Casey Anne Casey has recorded some of her best, recent poems for UNFURL’s first audio podcast. Settle down for half an hour to listen to Casey’s remarkable poetry.
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Cloud Bank
‘Cloud Bank’ is a multimedia presentation of poetry, images, and music. The creatives who collaborated on it are: Gina Mercer: a Tasmanian ecopoet who revels in collaboration. Kelli Miller: a photographer who celebrates the wilderness through her astro-photography, nightscapes, and landscape photography. ‹https://www.seensations.com/› Silverwood: a flute trio comprised of Lynne Griffiths (alto flute and harp), Carlie Collins (bass flute) and Angie Bull (flute). Silverwood compose and play original works inspired by the Tasmanian environment. ‹https://www.facebook.com/SilverwoodTa… https://bit.ly/unfurls.
Cloud Bank I’m skipping up to the Cloud Bank. Need to fill my pockets full of clouds. Withdraw a bundle of those shiny, light, and frothy ones ‒ to balance out, discount, the darkening miasmas of pandemic panic. That’s the world’s weather about now. Yes, I need a stash of those small, round, flotsam clouds that frolic on high summer skies. Frolicsome cirrocumulus. That’s the currency I need. Interest in such clouds is sky high. Floating rates. Stratospheric. And maybe, while I’m at it, I’ll stock up on some of those spectacular, lenticular clouds. The ones people mistake for spaceships. Maybe apply for a loan on the futures market? Definitely wouldn’t be a blue skies investment. Happy to go into hoc to get a stock of stratocumulus lenticularis duplicatus. Feed my hunger for wonder. Is there any need to worry there might be a run on the Cloud Bank in these uncertain times? Good news is ‒ there’s never a deficit. No shortfalls. Forecasters predict the Cloud Bank is always in surplus, can supply any level of demand. Orographic to cirrus. Stratus to altocumulus. Every cloud currency in plentiful supply. Your balance is always in the black and steel-blue. Flame and cream. Purple and green. Apricot and grey. And, of course, gold is standard, especially at sunrise. The Cloud Bank specialises in updrafts, never overdrafts. Simply cast your eyes up. Take in a draft. Draw down as much as you need from the endless lines of credit. Let’s skip up to the Cloud Bank. Use our inbuilt iris scanners to open up the vaults. Get ourselves a pocket-full, head-full, heart-full of clouds. Feed our hunger for wonder. by Gina Mercer
(Published first by Burrow, 2, Phillip & Gillian Hall (eds), Old Water-rat Publishing, Feb 2021.)
Gina Mercer unfurl posts
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unfurl /6
Steve Cox, Anna Jacobson, Tara Mokhtari, Anne Casey
Stephen J. Williams
Tara Mokhtari 
Steve Cox 
Anne Casey 
Anna Jacobson Screenshots (~10MB PDF)
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Anna Jacobson
Anna Jacobson is a writer and artist from Brisbane. Amnesia Findings (UQP, 2019) is her first full-length poetry collection, which won the 2018 Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize. In 2020 Anna won the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Writing (Open Creative Nonfiction), was awarded a Queensland Writers Fellowship, and was shortlisted in the Spark Prize. In 2018 she won the Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Award. Her writing has been published in literary journals and anthologies including Chicago Quarterly Review, Griffith Review, Australian Poetry Journal, Cordite, Meanjin, Rabbit: a journal for nonfiction poetry, and more. Anna’s poetry chapbook The Last Postman (Vagabond Press, 2018) is part of the deciBels 3 series. She is a PhD candidate at QUT specialising in memoir. She holds a Master of Philosophy in poetry (QUT 2018), a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies (UQ 2019), a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Creative and Professional Writing) (QUT 2015), and a Bachelor of Photography with Honours (Griffith University 2009). She was a finalist in the 65th Blake Art Prize, 2019 Marie Ellis Prize for Drawing and 2009 Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture. She won the 2009 Queensland Poetry Festival Filmmakers Challenge. Her website is www.annajacobson.com.au.
Open UNFURL /6 to read Anna Jacobson’s poetry and see her video.
UNFURL 