Australian poet Brook Emery earned a PhD in creative arts from the University of Newcastle. His lyric poems weave philosophy, marine science, and psychology with cantilevered syntax and careful attention to rhythm.

Much of Emery’s work commences with oceanic and natural forces, and while his poetry superficially appears studiously pantheistic, closer attention discovers stress and anxiety: as Maiden observed, the speaker digs his fingers into the sand in …

Emery's poetry is characterised by a dystopian vision of the world, the use of varied personae, an exuberant vocabulary, black humour and dramatic changes in register and tone. His work can shift between mainstream poetics and wild experimentation, …

some amazing poetry there, keep up the good work, lad! 1. Incorporate sensory imagery: Use vivid language to describe the sights, sounds, smells, and physical sensations experienced by …

Emery’s poetry is characterised by a dystopian vision of the world, the use of varied personae, an exuberant vocabulary, black humour and dramatic changes in register and tone. His work can shift between mainstream poetics and wild experimentation, …

from Uncommon Light (River Road Press, 2007), Brook Emery 2007, used by permission of the author and River Road Press

In Emery’s poem it stands for one kind of shapelessness – the result of free-associating and letting the words generate the meanings – and his embrace of it is accepting but cool: “implausible / but interesting none-the-less”.

only I have the key to my own poetry. Poetic Lilly Judy Emery (c) Poetess Lilly Judy Emery Continue reading... 961 · Feb 2017. Color Balloons. The Queen Of Darken Dreams Feb 2017 Color Balloons. Color Balloons Oh, to live on top of the …

Chris Emery is a poet and director of Salt. He has published three collections of poetry, two chapbooks, a writer’s guide, an anthology of art and poems, and has edited selections of Emily Brontë, John Keats and Christina Rossetti.

Emery is honors faculty on the Downtown Phoenix campus and has served as a Personnel Committee Representative for Languages and Cultures. You can find more of his poetry by visiting VCU's Blackbird: an online journal of literature and the arts ( vol. 15 no. 1 ).