Jerusalem Sonnets, Love, Wellington Zoo

In his fourth collection David Beach tackles a subject inescapable for any New Zealander writing sonnets; a subject inescapable for any writer of sonnets at all; and a subject which is just inescapable.

David Beach was born in 1959 and grew up mainly in Wellington, going to Onslow College and Victoria University. In 1986 he moved to Sydney where he worked as a mail sorter for Australia Post. He began writing poems in Australia and these have been published in various newspapers and magazines, including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Bulletin, The Canberra Times, Southerly, Quadrant, Overland and Island. His poem "Parachute" was chosen as one of the Best New Zealand Poems 2003. In 2002 he returned to Wellington where, for a change, he found work as a mail sorter for New Zealand Post. His debut collection Abandoned Novel was published by VUP in 2006, was followed by The End of Atlantic City (2008) and Scenery & Agriculture (2012). In March 2008 David won the prestigous Prize in Modern Letters. That a book of poems can win a $65,000 prize makes me feel as if I've stumbled into a parallel universe where poetry is considered important. David Beach