| The Best Australian Poetry 2007 | |
| Editor: | John Tranter |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Series: | The Best Australian Poetry |
| Genre: | Anthology |
| Published: | 2007 (University of Queensland Press) |
| Media Type: | Print paperback |
| Pages: | 156 pp |
| Isbn: | 978-0-7022-3607-5 |
The Best Australian Poetry 2007 is an anthology of poetry published by UQP in 2007. The series editors are Bronwyn Lea and Martin Duwell; the guest editor for the 2007 anthology was John Tranter.[1] [2]
The selected poems were drawn from the following Australian literary magazines: The Australian Book Review, Blast magazine, Blue Dog, Famous Reporter, Going Down Swinging, Heat, Hecate, Meanjin, Southerly, , and the Weekend Australian.
The 40 contributors are:
The poet Barry Hill wrote, "The format of the UQP book is excellent for anyone interested in how poets work and think. A note from the poet accompanies each poem, which is intrinsically interesting as well as a contribution to our literary history."[3] The Sydney Morning Herald critic Richard King stated, "Prose poems, whimsical lineation and other experiments in form abound, as do references to the act of writing and, of course, to language itself."[4]
Lyn McCredden penned a positive review, writing, "The collection is indeed far more interesting than that spectral polarity might indicate, for Tranter manages an almost erotic weaving between the artiness and textual play of poetry, and poetry's claim to transcend mere aesthetics, to speak from the very centre(s) of human experience. Hence, this anthology's multitude of voices shuttle and probe between the claims of content and form, life lived and life turned into art."[5] Antipodess G. Burns Cooper praised the book, stating, "Overall, this slim volume, while uneven, is well worth reading, whether for a sense of the state of the poetic art Down Under, or simply for the pleasure of words."[6]