Ask Me About the Future

Full of zest and flair, Jessen’s poems map constellations of desire, loss, and longing. Riffing on the future (which isn’t what it used to be), dating apps, despair, Bonnie Tyler, Taylor Swift, and the lesbian Bachelorette, they are set in interstellar queer utopias, maternity wards, and single beds. These are poems of sly surprises, radical vulnerability, dark-edged humour, and vast originality. Following on from her award-winning verse novel, Gap, this collection confirms Jessen as one of the most engaging and talented writers of her generation.

Rebecca Jessen is the award-winning author of the verse novel Gap (UQP, 2014). She is a recipient of the Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Award, the Queensland Literary Award for Best Emerging Author, the State Library of Queensland Young Writers Award, and an AMP Tomorrow Maker grant. She has also been shortlisted for the Arts Queensland Val Vallis Award and the Sisters in Crime Davitt Award for Best Debut Book. Her writing has been published widely, including in Overland, Meanjin, Rabbit Poetry Journal, Australian Poetry Journal, Going Down Swinging, The Lifted Brow, Cordite Poetry Review, Verity La and Voiceworks. Rebecca grew up in Western Sydney and now lives in Brisbane. Rebecca Jessen is the award-winning author of the verse novel Gap (UQP, 2014). She is a recipient of the Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Award, the Queensland Literary Award for Best Emerging Author, the State Library of Queensland Young Writers Award, and an AMP Tomorrow Maker grant. She has also been shortlisted for the Arts Queensland Val Vallis Award and the Sisters in Crime Davitt Award for Best Debut Book. Her writing has been published widely, including in Overland, Meanjin, Rabbit Poetry Journal, Australian Poetry Journal, Going Down Swinging, The Lifted Brow, Cordite Poetry Review, Verity La and Voiceworks. Rebecca grew up in Western Sydney and now lives in Brisbane.