In the Photograph

A new collection of prose poems by an acclaimed writer, artist and musician – a master of the surreal and the observational.

The poems in In the Photograph unfold in domestic and suburban settings. They capture the exact moment of writing: how, from it, possibilities branch out into observation, memory, word play, analogy, fantasy, other artworks and other art forms. Cinema, photography, theatre, painting and music all move freely in and out of the poem’s frame.

The writing revels in humour and narrative surprise: twists in syntax, jump cuts in time, jump cuts from one category of experience into another. In the Photograph is intimate, familial, often moving; it is also sparklingly clever and alert to the imaginative possibilities that can open out from the minutiae of days.

What makes this poetry so intriguing is its pétillant wit and unwavering attention to the imaginative possibilities that arise from the minutiae of our existence. A keen eye for detail illuminates the significance of these occurrences, transforming them into poignant and thought-provoking reflections on the human condition.
Justin Cantrell, Readings Monthly

Praise for Luke Beesley:

As lush or dreamy as the poems sometimes are, there’s a jittery, jokey, upset the image kitsch-cart motive afoot also…This is a poetry of possibility.
Michael Farrell, The Australian

A master of the cropped prism-like phrase…cinematic, photographic, a divider of scenes into moments that come to life through poetry, they dazzle, vibrate and stay.
Christopher Barnes, Jacket Magazine

Stylish, witty, erudite, contemporary, but also personal and close to what one might call home…a visually rich spread of poetry, comprising a hyperreal blend of ekphrasis, absurdist imagery, anecdote, and autobiography, which somehow manages to be as entertaining as it is challenging and profound.
Nick Xuereb, Cordite