Re:Vision

What would make the name of a road in Canberra or a Melbourne street as evocative as their more famous counterparts overseas? asks Isi Unikowski in this new collection. The answer lies in his singular perception of what takes place there: whether on the larger canvas of war, racism and decline, to the intimate dramas of childhood, parenthood and ageing. Including many prize-winning poems and poems published in leading magazines in Australia and overseas, Re:Vision will take you from Canberra’s spectacular countryside to old industrial sites in Melbourne; from King’s Cross as a modern-day Troy to Galileo atop his tower, and to the cities and suburbs of our imagination, our past and our dreams, conveying them all with his trademark allusiveness, humour and craft.

‘In Re: Vision, Isi Unikowski explores the complex histories of places and objects and the people and movements inhabiting them with a lively curiosity, tenderness and deep contemplation. Unikowski’s writing “momentarily catches the sunlight” and arrives at the centre of what it is to be human.’ Amanda Anasti

‘Unikowski’s poetry captivates the reader with its masterful imagery and emotional clarity. Many of these poems launch from a recognisable, safe, suburban world, but few finish there. Some swerve away into near-surrealism or the landscape of strange dreams. Others gently draw the reader beyond the workaday surface, into a deeper or sidelong contemplation. In its evocation of the Australia that was, and is, this book is pitch-perfect.’ Penelope Layland