Brian’s two new poetry books, Filmworks and the anthology 100 Poets have just been published by Flying Island Press (January 2025). These follow The Leaving, also by Flying Island Press, in January 2022. His earlier, uncategorisable book, Lovely Infestation, was published in 1995 and contains lyrics, poems and collages associated with his band Distant Locust.
Filmworks is a personal poetic excursion through the history of the great films – from Caligari to Oppenheimer, Bergman to Tarkovsky, 2001 A Space Odyssey to Godzilla Minus Zero! Prepare to be challenged, shocked and amused. ‘With so many roles and perspectives, whilst maintaining a singular consistency with his voice, Purcell is encompassing the entirety of his world, our world and the world of cinema into one amalgamative vision… It obviously goes without saying, if you enjoyed the films, you’ll certainly enjoy the poems in “Filmworks”. However, it’s not mandatory to have seen the movies; because these poems are much more than companion pieces. They stand on their own, with their own merits.’ DG Lloyd, author of Alive in Dubbo.
100 Poets celebrates more than one hundred books in the Pocket Poets’ series! It features one poem each from poets both obscure and well-known – established and up-and-coming – Australian and international – who are all part of the Flying Islands’ community. Each poet has been given one pocket-page to contribute work – and it makes for a brilliant, surprising, illuminating read! Get it for someone you love – or for yourself. Featuring a richly evocative cover by contributing poet Anna Couani, this is a book to treasure. ‘The names here read like a who’s who in the poetry zoo… old and young, performative and surreal, experimental, lyrical, classical, and translated. This is a book to enjoy slowly – maybe a poem a day.’ Magdalena Ball, author of Bobish.
‘It is a great pleasure to read poetry that is so open, emotional and unafraid of vulnerability. There are so many moving poems, and so much delightful phrase making that the book is a strong and rewarding read. These poems are also rich in observation, they demonstrate how feeling can be seamlessly recast into rhythm and musicality. Purcell captures the private instances of the sensual world with great aplomb. These poems have a sharpness of mind, a penetrating focus of image and diction, and a resonance that lingers.’ Judith Beveridge, recipient of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards for Poetry for Sun Music, 2019.
The Leaving features poems mostly written in the past decade, covering the author’s move from the city to the country, new challenges, relationships, landscapes and loves. Poems written with humour and in sorrow, with joy and passion, with incredulity and awe. Sometimes clear-eyed and disturbingly real, sometimes utterly fantastic, containing portraits of painters and politicians, of children paddling canoes, of a doomed lyricist writing songs on the road, of a lover pleading with his girlfriend to stay, and finally of life in the shadow of Covid. Just one person’s life in the 21st century.
Filmworks, The Leaving and Lovely Infestation are for sale, visit Shop! https://brianpurcell.art/shop/ For ‘100 Poets’ go to 100 Poets – Flying Islands Pocket Poets
History
Brian’s first poems were published in Poetry and Audience (Leeds, UK) in the early eighties. In 1984-85 he met poets like Christopher (Kit) Kelen and Adam Aitken through publishing poems in Poetry Australia’s young writers’ issue, New Pressings. He became involved in community literature, as voluntary secretary then president of the Poets Union Inc, while continuing to publish in Australian magazines such as Meanjin, Imago, Hobo, Rant, Scarp and Southerly, and in anthologies such as Australian Love Poems (Inkerman and Blunt) and Writing to the Wire (UWA Press).
Brian’s poems have also won awards and been in shortlist compilations such as Empathy, 2018 ACU Prize for Poetry, ACU, Brushstrokes II, Ros Spencer Poetry Contest Anthology 2020–21, and Poetry d’Amour prize anthologies for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, (WA poets Inc), Perth WA. Brian’s first book-length publication, Lovely Infestation, was released in 1995 by the independent Sydney label We Make μ-sick, and contains lyrics and collages associated with Distant Locust. In 2008 he moved to Bellingen and in 2010-16 founded and coordinated the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival.
[Link] – (319) Westerly at Bongil Beach, a poem by Brian Purcell – YouTube