The Anabranch

Each poem in this anthology is an anabranch in itself-a deviation

from the mainstream; a moment where time would seem to stand still;

a 'stay against the confusion of the world' in Robert Frost's memorable

phrasing. There something anabranch-ish about our moment, as our

deviation from what life was in 2020 reconnects further down stream in

2022. Rivers moved from drought to fullness to flood. Our communities

were pushed and pulled either side of the poverty line. We oscillated

between an open world and isolation.

Aidan Coleman

Alison Whittaker

Newcastle Poetry Prize Judges 2022