Beautiful Flames by Mark Mahemoff

For over three decades Mark Mahemoff has been composing one of the most significant bodies of work in contemporary Australian poetry. “Beautiful Flames”, his sixth book-length collection, shows a poet at the top of their game. The subtle tonalities expressed in these meticulously wrought poems are striking and original. Mahemoff’s world of acute observation and insight combine melancholy and irony, the transcendent and everyday, in surprising combinations that thrill and entertain. Whether he is reflecting on family relationships, suburban streetscapes, or the rich complexity of the past, he always succeeds in finding a point of wonder that embodies the very essence of poetry. Rendered in language that is both spare and elegant, Mahemoff also demonstrates his formidable technical skill with the use of forms such as the pantoum and senryu. The whole collection reads as one extended epiphany, where realisations not only transform the everyday, but also bear witness to the pleasure and pain of memory.

Professor Anthony Macris, UTS