Kirjahaku

When we listen, this land sings to us, holds us, nurtures us. This land is the common ground that we share. This small blue planet is the common world of our existence. Desert Patterns is a collection of poetry that touches the membrane between two worlds with the breath of wildness and our inland journeys. In its striking imagery, we have a revelation of the significance of the land and of the burden of our Australian history.'Colleen's poetic journey invokes the deep spirituality of our landscape. She immerses us in "a multitude of gorgeous images" as we stand in Tunnel Creek remembering Jandamarra, marvel with Monet at Kakadu's "blazing-blue lilies" and dream with cicadas: "is it a place the gods keep/to seduce the lost like me?" Every step of the way, Desert Patterns will entrance you.' - Pip Griffin'Colleen Keating in her distinctive Australian voice combines sensitivity to place with clear, powerful free verse. Her images are both striking and profound. Again as in her previous collections, her poetry is underpinned by a gentle spirituality from a woman's perspective. - John Egan'Take time to enter the world of this poetic landscape. Colleen Keating invites us to listen - with all our senses.' - Margaret Hede

'With a meticulously researched, absorbing verse narrative, Colleen Keating brings Olive Muriel Pink's significant, neglected history to life with distinctive, beautiful imagery. In powerful lyrical stanzas, she tells the story of Olive's struggle for recognition as a female anthropologist, her lifelong work for the rights of the Warlpiri and Arrernte people she loved and lived among, and the creation of her arid garden. "High on a camel swaying to and fro / with a straight back and a broad smile / Olive rides into her future." Olive's persistence, her triumphs and her passion for justice make for uplifting and compelling reading.' - Pip Griffin'Olive Pink is one of Australia's unsung heroines. In this original and deeply moving biographical verse novel, Colleen Keating enables Olive Pink's experiences with Aboriginal people in Central Australia to emerge with sensitivity, intellectual curiosity, understanding and grace. It is a triumph for reconciliation and will surely enter the annals of Australian literature.' - Lyndall Ryan'A play, a dance, books, a proposed film, an opera and now a wonderful narrative poem by Colleen Keating. I wonder what Miss Pink would think about all this attention - her battles and passions appreciated at last ' - Gillian Ward'Olive Pink's life floats off the page - very much the character I've come to know and admire while translating her experience into music across this past decade. Colleen Keating gives us a seriously beautiful work based on research that brings Olive vividly to life. It is wonderful to see the astonishing story of this Australian woman Olive Pink, given the attention she so deserves. Such a visionary.' - Anne Boyd'An invaluable and powerful addition to the story of Australian women who lived their lives working for equality and social justice. A joy to read.' - Elizabeth Keating-Jones

A poet as beachcomber walks the beach, sometimes with pen and paper, gathering sights and sounds, shells and stones, scents and seagull scenes. Yet it is not always about the waves and wind, for the sea carries the stories of the world; how it connects and disconnects, how it gives and takes, reveals how we treat it. Humanity is always present in its deep moans and its dance of exaltation. When you listen, the ocean has much to say. Pick up Beachcomber and, like Jonathan Livingston Seagull, these poems will take you flying.

'Ring the Bells' is a collection of new poetry with an invitation to hear each poem as a bell chime embracing light, dark, life and love - cyclic like the seasons. Colleen Keating has published seven books of poetry, including the best-selling 'Hildegard of Bingen' (Ginninderra Press, 2019). She has won numerous awards and her poems have been published both nationally and internationally. Her writing explores the paradox and wonder of nature, the realities of life, of inequality, injustice and the increasing threat to our natural environment. Colleen writes on Ku-ring-gai land in Sydney, Australia and Darkinjung on the Central Coast, NSW.