In this impressive anthology John Tranter weaves many threads into a portrait of Australian poetry in 2012. Emerging poets sit alongside the celebrated, travelling from Lake Havasu City to Graz, and nursing homes to fairgrounds, with characters as diverse as David Bowie, Emily Dickinson and Rumpelstiltskin. The Best Australian Poems 2012will satisfy a hunger for storytelling and a yearning for beauty. Poets Include . . . Alan Wearne, Chris Wallace-Crabbe, mark Tredinnick, Maria Takolander, Tim Thorn, Pete Spence, Jaya Savige, Gig Ryan, Peter Rose, Felicity Plunkett, Les Murray, David McCooey, Jennifer Maden, Mike Ladd, Andy Kissane, Jill Jones, Sarah Holland-Batt, Lisa Gorton, Geoff Goodgellow, Angela Gardner, Katherine Gallagher, Michael Farrell, Sarah Day, Bruce Dawe, Luke Davies, Joanne Burns, Pam Brown, Ali Alizadeh, Robert Adamson and many more . . . 'I was struck . . . by just how many poems depended on the ancient devices of the storyteller . . . Many have a lyrical or meditative feel, but most have a story to tell, captured in a brief glimpse of the meaning of life, or a dramatic climax.' John Tranter