Author(s): Toby Davidson

Poetry and Literary Essays

Four Oceans, Toby Davidson's second collection, confirms his reputation as one of the most expansive and radical voices in the emerging generation of Australian poets. The scale and scope of the works are deliberately ambitious, often testing the limits of what a single poem can reveal through multiple readings. This collection follows the poet's transitions from Western to Eastern Australia and overseas through finely-wrought, if occasionally feral, long verse sequences and experiments in form.

Yet these are not escapist poems; they know 'escape cannot be a constant costume' and instead confront the ghosts of Australia's past. They look inward as well as out, forward as well as back, with a gritty resolve, empathy and wry humour. Four Oceans is a poetry collection which bears stark witness to the present moment and unsparingly asks how we got here.

'Book-ended by two substantial sequences, with 'memory as a toy to tamper with (and how)', and great verbal ingenuity and humour, Four Oceans is a major achievement of one of our most talented younger poets.' -- David Malouf