You're Invited: New Flying Island Books from two superb poets

This Friday, April 4th, the wonderful Jean Kent and Judy Johnson will be launching their new books Exhibit and The Language of Light, both published by Flying Island Books from 5 pm to 6.30 pm, and you're invited.  The event will take place at:
The Press Book House
462 Hunter St
Newcastle

These two poets will launch each others books, in what I expect to be a rather wonderful session (and aren't the covers beautiful?). 
MC: Karen Crofts, Director, Hunter Writers Centre
RSVP: judyannj@exemail.com.au or alicejean.kent@gmail.com

These Flying Island books contain a selection of poems from Judy and Jean, with translations into Chinese by Iris Fan.

Judy Johnson, who launched my own Black Cow novel some years ago, has been writing and publishing poetry in Australia for twenty years and has won a number of prizes including the Victorian Premier's Award, Wesley Michel Wright Award (twice), Josephine Ulrick and Val Vallis Prize. In 2011 she was awarded a month's long residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland as a part of the Varuna Alumni Exchange Program. She taught Creative Writing at Newcastle University for several years and is currently working on a book of narrative poetry supported by a Literature Board Grant.

Jean Kent, who was one of my panelists at the NWF last year, has published four collections of poetry. The most recent is Travelling with the Wrong Phrasebooks (Pitt Street Poetry, 2012). Her books have been set for study at university and in secondary schools. Awards she has won include the Anne Elder Prize, Dame Mary Gilmore Award and Wesley Michel Wright Prize for books, and the National Library Prize, Josephine Ulrick Prize and Somerset Prize for individual poems. In 1994 and 2011, she was awarded residencies at the Literature Board's Keesing Studio in Paris, where she completed some of the poems in this selection.

I personally count both of these poets as mentors and hugely inspirational.  They're writing is always powerful, distinctive and rich, and having both together in one session is a treat.