Thanks, Cathy. Yesterday I got a book from Les, The Seaglass Spiral, the newest novel by Alan Gould. I admire a man who actually has made his living from writing books, something I shall never contrive. Les asked me to read and review the new book, which I shall do.

I owe my acquaintance with Alan's work entirely to Paul Stevens and to Les.
He's a couple of years my senior, gestated on a trawler making its way to Iceland, the home of his mother's people, relocated from Britain to Oz as a boy. He's a terrific poet, and his formal poems most impress me. Despite the vast continent of Oz, he is very much a man of the sea, as am I, although my sea is more commonly the sea of corn on the High Plains. I look forward to diving into this new book.

I really think if we want to write English, we need to know all these remarkable Australians, Hope, Harwood, Wright, Edgar, Murray, Gould. Not to mention all of the unacknowledged poets on this site who seek to join that pantheon. I have tried to serve as a cheerleader to all of them, for Australia is a country of my imagination.

I was just cleaning out the truck and found an unopened copy of Quadrant from April. It contained a het met sonnet I'd forgotten I'd written. And it was good! I searched all files, gmail and word docs, and it was nowhere. I can only surmise that I wrote it in my cups, printed a copy to send to Les in New South Wales, and didn't save the text. Better to be lucky than good.

Tim,

Congrats on Gray's. I love their mag and they pout me on a back burner last year so maybe I'll join you one day. They're awfully fortunate to have Tim Murphy.

Thanks, Lance. I hope we'll see you there soon.