An Elegant Sufficiency

"I'm drawn to the attractive scope, humanity and acuity of Wallis's vision. His poems reflect wide travel in fact and in imagination. Often entertaining in their responses to appealing poets like Larkin and McGough, or in self-ironising accounts of life experience (in 'Table Tennis', 'Anzac Day', and the splendid title poem), they embody a broad empathy for fellow lovers and explorers of the emotions. 'Honeymoon Bay', and 'The Story of a Life', along with poems invoking David Hockney's subjects, as well as the lives of Oscar Wilde and Alan Turing, give point to the depth, integrity and authority of the collection. I recommend his celebration of the art." (Michael Sharkey - Editor of the Australian Poetry Journal) "Rob Wallis's poetry will immediately charm you with its sure-footed and literate wit. But this is just a ruse - its real agenda, barely-hidden, is to haunt you with its perceptive observations and acute tenderness." (Andy Jackson)