Local writer to launch first collection of poetry

A collection of poetry written by U3A Surf Coast president John Bartlett will be showcased next month at the Geelong Regional Library and Heritage Centre.

The Arms of Men – published by the Melbourne Poets Union as part of their Union Poet Chapbook Series – will be launched by Deakin University academic, writer and poet, Maria Takolander on June 2.

John is the author of three novels, Towards a Distant Sea, Estuary and Jack Ferryman: Reluctant Private Investigator, as well as All Mortal Flesh, a collection of short stories and A Tiny & Brilliant Light, his published non-fiction.

Professor David McCooey from Deakin’s Waurn Ponds campus said The Arms of Men is a powerful collection that brings together visions of the natural world in all its stark beauty, and of our human world with its complexities, pleasures, and injustices.

“John Bartlett offers a compelling portrait of a place of ‘damaged angels’, but one where – despite the nearing Apocalypse – ‘grace still hovers over the earth’,” Professor McCooey said.

“Ranging from the comic and satirical to the elegiac and erotic, this is a brave, humane work.”

The launch of The Arms of Men is free and will begin at 2pm. Representatives from the Melbourne Poets Union will also be in attendance.

To book your attendance, visit grlc.vic.gov.au.