Stephen Ramay

Hi, great to be here.

Well, if we're going to start with the standouts, I do want to start with one that listeners may well not have heard of.

So I want to mention Paul Kane's book-length poem, A Passing Bell.

Paul Kane is an American poet, but he has a very strong connection to Australia.

He, in fact, spends half of his time here in rural Victoria.

The blurbs on this book come from the likes of Helen Garner,

and Raymond Gator, so that underscores his connection.

He wrote this poem for his wife Tina after she died unexpectedly, after 35 years of marriage.

It is probably the best book I read this year.

It is certainly the saddest.

It is certainly one of the most beautiful.

you will cry on almost every page.

If I could, I wouldn't mind just reading a tiny bit from the first stanza, or ghazal as they are called, it's a Persian form of poetry.

This is how he starts the book.

At night I lie awake and call to you, but you don't reply except in silence.

The night bird is not silent but sings a simple single note.

His mate does not sing back.

I do not understand this silence, as if God has departed and taken you with him.

I have no words to form a prayer that would reach you or him.

Two wine glasses sit on the countertop.