Rose van Son on ‘The Office of Literary Endeavours’

26 Nov

It’s always nice when you realise that someone has actually read your book – and enjoyed it! So it was lovely to find Perth based writer and poet. Ros van Son, mentioning The Office of Literary Endeavours (5 Islands Press, 2025) recently on social media. More than happy to go with “Memorable language and crafted lines by a master poet”!

The Office of Literary Endeavours is available from https://www.5islandspress.com/product-page/the-office-of-literary-endeavours-by-mark-roberts.

It is also available from Gleebooks in Sydney, Readings in Melbourne, and The Little Lost Bookshop in Katoomba .

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My shortlisted poem, ‘Theory of flight for two voices’, appears in ‘Poetry of Flight: The Liquid Amber Prize Anthology’

25 Nov

Earlier this year I was excited and honoured to be short-listed for the 2025 Liquid Amber Poetry Prize and this coming Thursday the resulting anthology, Poetry of Flight, will be launched by Zoom.

“The 2025 Liquid Amber Poetry Prize invited poets to respond to the broad topic of ‘flight’ – and to take it in whatever direction they wished. Perhaps being in flight from something, or towards new places, experiences or elements. Perhaps knowing the ecstatic flight of emotions or the spirit, or an engagement with the feathered world of what inhabits air and branch…

The astounding stylistic and thematic range of poems in this Longlist do what powerful art always does – they offer the reader the insights, connection and joy which enable us to live our lives for the better.

This anthology has the 51 poems of the Longlist, including the winners.”

If you want to catch some of the contributors to the anthology read their poems on Thursday night you can book your Zoom place here: https://liquidamberpress. com.au/events/ where you can also purchase copies of the anthology.

 

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Mark Roberts and The Office of Literary Endeavours at Live Poets at Don Bank

20 Oct

Live Poets at Don Bank, 6 Napier St, North Sydney open at 7.30 pm. Entry of $10 (cash preferred) includes supper and drinks in the courtyard. 

I am looking forward to reading from The Office of Literary Endeavours this coming Wednesday night at Live Poets at Don Bank in North Sydney. This will be my first reading since returning from Ireland and I am looking forward to reading again in the Southern Hemisphere! If you are in Sydney on Wednesday night it would be great to see you – Live Poets is always fun.

 

On Wednesday, October 22nd we welcome MARK ROBERTS who will introduce us to ‘The Office of Literary Endeavours’. Mark is a poet who cuts through on issues: ‘one of our more honest voices’. There will also be a feature: ‘Poets as Witness (How word-persons process experience)’ and of course our celebrated OPEN SECTION for poets, short story writers and musicians. Doors of Don Bank at 6 Napier St, North Sydney open at 7.30 pm. Entry of $10 (cash preferred) includes supper and drinks in the courtyard.
Bookings/More information please email Danny Gardner. Come for the camaraderie of 35 years!

Culture Night at Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop Galway

17 Sep

Linda Adiar and I will be reading a few poems on Friday night (19 September) at Charlie Byrne’s bookshop in Galway as part of 2025 Culture night. We will be reading for 5 minutes each and this will be our last reading in Ireland before returning to Australia. I am particularly exited to be reading at one of my favourite bookshops in the world!

Culture Night / Oíche Chultúir in Ireland is a national moment, celebrating culture, creativity and the arts and seeks to actively promote the belief that this rich and varied culture is alive, treasured and nurtured in people’s lives, today and every day. It is delivered nationwide in cities, towns, villages and rural locations as well as online and through our media partners. For more information you can go to https://culturenight.ie/

You can find Charlie Byrne’s at The Cornstore, Middle Street, Galway, H91AH7A https://charliebyrne.ie/

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Mark Roberts – The poetry of place, history and memory – Guest editorial, Live Encounters

10 Sep

I was honoured to be asked to write the guest editorial for the September Issue of Live Encounters. In my editorial I talk about the importance of place in poetry, and in my recent work in particular. Beyond my editorial there is great work in the issue from a plethora of my favourite writers and poets, including: Linda Adair, Mark  Tredinnick, David Rigsbee, Jordan Smith, Brian Kirk, Jane Frank, Hugh McMillan, Terry McDonagh, Angela Costi, Richard W Halperin, Anton Floyd, Phil Lynch, Indran Amirthanayagam,
Lincoln Jaques, Edward Caruso, Justin Lowe, LaWanda Walters, Stephen House, Amy Barry, Ma Yongbo, Patricia Sykes, Daphne Wilson, Gita Chattopadhyay – translations by Paramita Banerjee & Carolyne Wright and Dr Salwa Gouda.

Many thanks to editor Mark Ulyseas for the opportunity to contribute my thoughts.

You can read my editorial on-line https://liveencounters.net/2025-le-pw/mark-roberts-the-poetry-of-place-history-and-memory-guest-editorial/. 

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Mark Roberts & Linda Adair to read at Poetry Plus, Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary

7 Sep

I’m excited to be reading work from my latest collection, The Office of Literary Endeavous (5 Islands Press 2025) and Concrete Flamingos (Island Press 2016) along with my wife and co-editor of Rochford Street Review, Linda Adair, in Ireland on Friday 12 September to kick-off a new of Poetry Plus at the Brewery Lane Theatre & Arts Centre, Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary. This will be a special reading for me as my great grandmother was born just up the road in Mullinahone.

If you are anywhere in the vicinity on Friday night it would be great to see you there. Seating is limited so you will need to book at https:// www.ticketsource.com/ booking/select/pqeayjldoxqn and admission is only €10.00.

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5 Islands Press Reading at Gleebooks: Mark Roberts & Kai Jensen

5 Aug

I am excited to be reading and discussing poetry with Kai Jensen at Gleebooks this coming Sunday afternoon!

5 Islands Press is excited to collaborate with Gleebooks in this event featuring Mark Roberts and Kai Jensen, the authors, respectively, of two of our most recent publications, The Office of Literary Endeavours and The Zebra Path of Tree Light. Readings from both of these books will be complemented and enlivened by conversation between the poets about, among other things, where the poems came from and how they came to find their final shape. The event will be introduced by 5 Islands Press Managing Editor, Mark Tredinnick. Why not join us for a drink, nibbles and an entertaining and instructive afternoon?

This is a free event but registration via Gleebooks events page is essential. Click here to register.

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Tina Giannoukos talks to Mark Roberts about his latest collection ‘The Office of Literary Endeavours’ on 3CR Spoken Word

30 Jul

Tina Giannoukos recently interviewed me on the Spoken Word program on Community Radio 3CR about my latest collection The Office of Literary Endeavours. You can listen to the interview on the Spoken Word website https://www.3cr.org.au/spoken-word/episode/mark-roberts-office-literary-endeavours or you can listen below:

 

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You can buy The Office of Literary Endeavours from 5 Islands Press

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‘Theory of flight for two voices’ longlisted for the 2025 Liquid Amber Poetry Prize

15 Jul

 

I’m excited to have a new poem ‘Theory of flight for two voices’ longlisted for the 2025 Liquid Amber Poetry Prize. It really is an honour to be listed among the other great poets on the list (https://liquidamberpress.com.au/2025/07/14/2025-poetry-prize-longlist/). My thanks to the judges Willo Drummond, Rose Lucas and Ali Whitelock. I’m really looking forward to reading the anthology which will include all the longlisted poems.

The violence of erasure: Les Wicks launches ‘The Office of Literary Endeavours’ by Mark Roberts

10 Jul

Les Wick’s launch speech for my latest collection, The Office of Literary Endeavours (5 Island Press), is now live on Rochford Street Review. If you couldn’t make it to the launch you can see what he had to say at https://rochfordstreetreview.com/2025/07/09/les-wicks-launches-the-office-of-literary-endeavours-by-mark-roberts/

“For me, I was struck by the constant violence explored in this collection. What is remarkable is the way Mark with a deft and gentle voice recreates that violence on the page. The way he presents it makes that violence even more tangible. Impossible to disregard. It is physical in the poems shadow birds, how many more are coming and the conscription vote 1916. Economic violence is explored throughout alongside extensively the violence of erasure”.

The Office of Literary Eneavours by Mark Roberts is available from:

 

 

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