"Wearne's epics and fragments are like the traces of aruined culture, in which everybody got to star in their own domestic drama orscrewball romance. Until you realise that it's happening, here and now: you arebeing waltzed around the living room of middle-class folklore." Bonny Cassidy

"Australia's finest verse satirist" Peter Pierce

AlanWearne specialises in monologues and verse narratives. A young widow inpost-war Melbourne fends off the approaches of her best friend's husband; aretired femocrat recalls her lovelorn Maoist youth; a single mother falls intoan abusive relationship with a drifting musician; a heroin addict is haunted byhis dealer's murder of a youth. Also included is 'The Sarsaparilla Writer'sCentre', a collection of satires on music, football, religion, politics, andpoets.

Alan Wearne's verse novels TheNightmarkets and The Lovemakersand his collections The AustralianPopular Songbook and Prepare theCabin for Landing won the National Book Council Banjo Award, the NSWPremier's Poetry Prize and Book of the Year Award, the Judith Wright CalantheAward, the Grace Levin Prize and the Colin Roderick Award. He is the publisherof Grand Parade Poets.