My poem Clearing the caravan park has been shortlisted (with 8 others) for the 2011 Julie Lewis Biennial Literary Awards (Peter Cowan Writers Centre, Perth, Western Australia.) Even if it goes no further I’m honored to have reached the short-list stage from a national field of 220 poems. The other finalists are Amanda Anastasi, Karen Atkinson, Kate Case, Mikaela Castledine, Oliver Driscoll, Christopher Konrad, Roland Leach, Jan Price and  Edward Reilly.

My poet friend Julia Wakefield introduced me to the Peter Cowan Centre last year when she won second place in the alternate-year Trudy Graham Awards with her provocative poem Language/Caution.

I’ve also received a welcome email this week from editor Michelle Hartman to say that my poem crying at the poetry reading has been accepted for the US online literary journal Red River Review.