Dogs Barking in the Distance

John Blackhawk lived in India and England before migrating to Australia. Previously he worked as a teacher in Sydney. These days, home is Umina Beach on the New South Wales Central Coast. He currently works as a canine behavioural therapist. Dogs have become a major part of his life. They pervade his poetry, as does the beautiful coastal scenery where he lives. This is his second book of poetry, the first being Against the Currents (Ginninderra Press, 2010).

'In dogs barking in the distance, John Blackhawk records his experience of an imperfect world, a world made bearable by the beauty of nature, music, and his companions. He gifts his readers with a considered view of places and people, both unique and universal. With a keen eye for detail, he traces both his geographical and his mind's wanderings across an international and political landscape, just reconnoitring for the day when it won't have to return. His wry turn of phrase, at its most sardonic when he speaks of himself, slices through the sheer overwhelming scope of life, articulating the bewilderedness we all have some sense of, and we too are undone walking through this existential imagery.' - Kelly Blaney-Murphy

'John's poems have tremendous scope, ranging from microscopic observations of life to grand reflections on evolution. These are gritty poems of a life lived in everyday moments which reveal their true meaning under the poet's forensic eye. In this collection words weave stories with craft to draw the reader into a multilayered world equally fascinated by the unusual and the mundane. From warm, funny, bittersweet stories of childhood to the realities of everyman who has experienced displacement, desolation and loss, John's voice is sure and deft.'- Liz Macnamara

'John Blackhawk's multilayered work is at once accessible to the casual reader and sophisticated and complete enough to intrigue and entice those seeking deeper contemplation of word and phrase. He is worthy of reading and rereading.'- Peter Stuckey

'John will immerse you in his world, and then you'll be surprised by your journey.' - Julia Telling

'Verse with the power of the jet stream, delivered from an ocean of tales of pithy erudition.' - Bob Douglas