Nicolette Stasko can make the still moment resonate. With an imagist's eye, she reaches deep below surfaces and pulls the unseen into a variegated light. Her poems are examinations of grief "and" joy, of frugality "and" abundance. Each poem is an engagement with the implications of seeing. They carry intensity with razor sharp precision. -- John Kinsella This second collection by Nicolette Stasko is further confirmation of an outstanding talent--generous illuminations of form and content in a rich tapestry of words--that was so much in evidence in her first book Abundance. -- Bruce Beaver In these "unshockable" times, here is a poetry that delivers -- with an emotional intensity that can shock, even as its phrasing moves and delights. A very steady eye, a painter's fascination with the objects of the world, the apparently solid as well as the ephemeral and delicate. The humour is magnanimous and also subtle, turning on the poet as often as it targets the world. A yearning beyond the tangible, for the intangible "thusnessess" where all language must stop. -- J.S. Harry Nicolette Stasko's poems probe the edges of everyday experience, locating their reality somewhere between empirical and spiritual narratives. Her voices are direct, creating a sense of intimacy and honesty, yet she is able to use her painterly eye, imagistic economy and skilful lineation to suggest more than she says. It is as if the poems know a great hunger. -- Noel Rowe

Nicolette Stasko was born in the US of Polish and Hugarian ancestry and emigrated to Australia in 1979. Her first book of poetry, Abundance won the Anne Elder Award in 1993 and was short listed for the New South Wales Premier's prize and the National Book Awards. Since then she has published three volumes of poetry and a best-selling work of non-fiction, Oyster. Her poetry is widely anthologised and she has read at many events, both nationally and overseas. She is also a reviewer, editor, essayist, and teacher, recently completing a PhD at the University of Sydney. Her novel The Invention of Everyday Life is published in 2007. She lives in Sydney.

NEW POEMSFritterWild GrapesTressanThe Moth and the MoonTorn SailsPrescriptionsA Royal WeGlass CathedralsThe Lice PickerFour Heads and Some BodiesNestsFROM ABUNDANCEDislocationFemme Assise pres de la FenetrePoem for JessicaLamb and Bitter Herbs4:00 a.m.Supermarket IIOrnithologyLumeah StreetPlaceLandscapesLast RitesIrisesHospital (Ward 2-S)The LessonAt Depot BeachHyperdomeA Simple StoryRemediosLetters to AmericaNight DreamingKitchen PoemsJust a Postcard This TimeInheritanceAbundanceNasturtiumsReading in BedThe Beekeeper Takes Out InsuranceWild Roses98.6LossWalking at NoonTagasode"My Nurse and I"FROM BLACK NIGHT WITH WINDOWSThe MotherDesertSleepDead AirMaking Beds/Passing the ThunderstormFirst LiesThe WindowPickling the ChiliesKeepersKaisekiThe HeronPassengersCasuarina Sands'Sowing Seeds at Nite'PietasTableHungerThe WalkOystersBlack Night with WindowsPoemThe Murmuring of Many TonguesMutton BirdsSun upon Sun FROM THE WEIGHT OF IRISESAshesAnother Quarrel with the SelfAfter Many Sleepless NightsA Single AscensionDeath of BlueA MomentOn the Economy of CryingJanuary 18thLong DistanceSome WindowsThe Sea HorseDaysMudcrabs'Plaza en la Colonia del Sacramento'Dwelling in the Shape of ThingsHolesSeven DevilsDecember 31The Reef HeronThe SoundAfter Wangaratta and DonatelloThe Kingdom of SparrowsOn the Phenomenon of Colour