Convent Mermaid

by Rod Usher

Rod Usher's third collection, Convent Mermaid, is full of wit and sadness, love and loss. Many of the poems spring from his long experience as a journalist, novelist and from years of living and working in Europe. As Les Murray has written, Rods poetry inspires both tears and laughter. He's equally at home in poetic conversation with Emily Dickinson, David Bowie and Federico Garcia Lorca, in revisiting Cro-Magnon Man, or portraying the to-and-fro of love and sex. His poems find their feet in Australia, Spain, England and the U.S., their rhyme typically embedded rather than obligatory, though he bows to the tight rules of haiku. Rods poems regularly appear in leading literary magazines such as Island, Meanjin and Quadrant, as well as in various anthologies, including Australian Love Poems and the UKs Aesthetica Annual. His most recent novel is Poor Man's Wealth (HarperCollins, 2011), a title which, not surprisingly, comes from a poem.

108 pages, Paperback

First published August 8, 2014

Reviews

[Barbara J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rod Usher reminds us why we care about poetry--why it remains relevant and vital--in his third poetry collection, Convent Mermaid. A multi-talented writer with an impressive background in international journalism and several published novels to his credit, Usher's poetic work is imbued with candor, wit, depth, and tenderness. He engaged this reader with his considerable powers of observation, surprised with rhyme schemes, and inspired with his appreciation of the stuff of life we so often take for granted. Through the beauty of language and the lens of experience, the poet communicates the wonder of it all from the perspective of a citizen of the world who remains accessible. Poem after poem, I found myself thinking, 'Yes--that's how it is.' Beyond reaching the heart, mind, and funny bone, Convent Mermaid illustrates the potential of poetry to not only enrich but to transform.