TEXT poetry

Richard James Allen

someone in your family once read my novel  
or maybe studied it at school
I found an old copy
an early Penguin edition
down behind the back row of books
at the bottom of your bookcase              
the front cover was ripped off
but I could tell they had appreciated it
because the title was pencilled
about thirty times on the front page
there was a recipe for fruit cake
in the blank space between sections one & two
scrawled down the margins of pages 126 & 223
were the departure & arrival times of the North Coast Mail
& across the back flap
the names of fourteen people
who used to be alive
frozen in a line
like sitting ducks in a shooting gallery

Author or editor of nine books, Australian born poet Richard James Allen’s writing has appeared widely in magazines, journals and anthologies, and in the groundbreaking online initiative – the Australian Poetry Library.  He has combined a unique international career as a writer, performer, choreographer and filmmaker, with multi-award-winning screen adaptations of his poetry at over 200 international festivals and on television around the world, and live performance readings and adaptations at over 100 venues on three continents.  Recently he has been involved with cutting edge incursions into poetry and new media.  Dr Allen is an honorary Associate to the University of Technology, Sydney in the Creative Practices area.