Fishing for Lightning

Book excerpt: Fishing for Lightning gathers together acclaimed poet and critic Sarah Holland-Batt's celebrated columns on contemporary Australian poetry. In fifty illuminating and lively short essays on fifty poets, Holland-Batt offers a masterclass in how to read and love poetry, opening up the music of language, form, and poetic technique in her casual and conversational yet deeply intelligent style. From the villanelle to the verse novel, the readymade and the remix to the sonnet, Holland-Batt's essays range across the breadth of contemporary poetry, but also delve into the richness of poetic and literary history, connecting the contemporary to the ancient. Dazzling in its erudition, but always accessible and entertaining, Fishing for Lightning convinces us of the power of poetry to change our lives.