In considering poems for publication in Other Terrain, we seek to be moved in some way. Beyond cleverness and adept use of devices, we want to be challenged or changed – shake us, rattle us, wake us, slay us! For us, that is one of the greatest gifts of poetry, to be transported out of the ordinary.
Without exception, the poems in this issue, we feel, achieve this and so much more. Hearing Judith Beveridge read her poem, ‘Bandit’ at the launch of her ‘Sun Music: New and Selected Poems’ (Giramondo 2018) evoked tears. We are so grateful to Judith and her publisher for granting us permission to reproduce this gorgeous ode to her beloved lost canine companion here. Its lyric beauty and resounding soul should move even the least dog-loving of readers.
In a recent Irish Times interview, I mentioned a number of poets who ‘rip my heart out of my chest and make me watch it pulsing in the palm of my hand’. Felicity Plunkett is one such poet, and we are indebted to her for bringing us her stunning ‘Strand’ to share in this issue. If we seek to be moved or changed in reading a poem, then this is a poem that gives and gives, and gives again, on each re-reading of it.
Michael Farrell’s ‘Kangaroo Moon’ is another astonishing poem and we are thrilled to debut its Chinese translation alongside the original text in English in this issue.
What a delight to have revelled in Michael Aiken’s gruesome, gritty, edgy and ambitious verse novel, ‘Satan Repentant’ and then to discover some work of his in our submissions pile! And what divine contrast we found in his two beauties, ‘The hawk in Your thoughts’ and ‘Duck Creek’, from his forthcoming collection entitled ‘Little Book of Sunlight and Maggots’. This book is a treasure trove of tenderly rendered and inexorably affecting reflections. We are thrilled to preview these two pieces from it in this issue.
‘Australian Air’ is another stand-out piece—not solely because it was written (quite incredibly we feel) by the youngest ever Australian Slam Champion, Solli Raphael, when he was just twelve years old! Don’t miss the video link alongside the poem where you can watch Solli’s extraordinary performance of this stunning spoken word work.
With brilliance from Tricia Dearborn, Jane Clarke, Paul Casey, Anne Elvey, Karla Whitmore, Philip Porter, David Allen Sullivan, Eugen Bacon, Sandra Renew, Jayant Kashyap, Marilyn Humbert, Frances Roberts and Col Grant also in this issue, we hope you will be moved over and over, as we have been in bringing together the poetry for this issue. Our heartfelt thanks to all our poets for sharing your beautiful work with us, and special thanks also to Savannah White, our very hard-working Assistant Poetry Editor.
Anne Casey – Senior Poetry Editor.