Thief

<p>Poetry frequently warrants an element of autobiography. Broadly it conveys a truth not produced in fiction. You may find yourself when reading some of these pieces with an urge to reach out to the poet such is their evocatively traumatic content. Yet it is the heartbreak and despair of writer's block that is at the core of much of this verse.</p><p><br></p><p>There is plenty of tragedy throughout the poems and a sense of existential distress. Yet moments of crisis often inspire creativity. There is an adage derived from the phenomenologists suggesting that one must have a breakdown in order to have a breakthrough. We see Bianca Bowers at her best in <em>Thief</em> in crisis moments with meditations on time stealing youth on artistic needs both material and sublime and on the rejection of social norms. </p><p><br></p><p>Ironically the poet bleeds onto the page creating a work of great beauty. In her sixth poetry collection Bianca Bowers' <em>Thief</em> encapsulates a determination to work through writer's block with the undoubted implication that the phenomenon is a myth. The success of this poetic endeavour is testament to that.</p><p><br></p><p>-Richard Gibney</p>