A Hunger

by Petra White

This volume opens with a full-length book of new poems by Petra White, A Hunger. Bound-in with it are her two prior books, The Simplified World and The Incoming Tide. The new poems of A Hunger are as lucid as they are mysterious, crafted for the ear, and for an emotional tone that slips delicately between mischievous irony and a cut-through bleakness or joy.

A strong theme, in parts, is depression, where White presses beyond personal response into examining darkness itself, in a fierce art that deliberately gives and asks for no indulgence. The same goes for her love poems, in a sequence that plunges into the wild contradictions and poignancy of new love, with glances to Renaissance poets.
Contemporary worlds – people and place – are foundation for this poetry, which is haunted by inscrutable time. Her well-known ‘Southbank’ from her first book is given a further turn in a new sequence, ‘The Sound of Work’ – this is one of the few contemporary poets to write convincingly of office work. In all, White’s poems inhabit life’s fragility with a light-footed constancy.

By adding her prior two books, the Press intends not only to keep them in print, but to lay out for readers the fullness of the growth of an oeuvre. The poet has taken the opportunity to make a handful of excisions and revisions.

Genres: Poetry

155 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Darcey O'Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful poetry, Aussie setting. White's work isn't my thing I far prefer something more traditional, however it's easy and accessible enough as a study resource.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll give this a proper review soon... Only thing I'll say for now is that reading each book in the order it was published worked better for me than reading front cover to back cover.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

petra white ate this shit up

feral cow made me feral (in the best way)

magnolia tree was literally me - i still quote "a pill of grey dissolving in a glass of grey"

wish i could relate to selva oscura and ode on love but maybe in another life

ricketts point was perfecto and literally brought me back to when i would go to ricketts point as a little dumpling #beauybitch

much respect for petra - u made me like poetry :)

[lewa]

magnolia tree <3

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually three collections of poetry by White, A Hunger being the most recent. It's a rich and varied collection of poems, with plenty of interest.

[Antonia☁️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Wherewillowsweep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked, but didn't find all the poems very easy to access. Quite a diverse collection. An amazing talent though