Poems: The New Book and The Importance of Religion

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</p> <p>This week’s tongue-in-cheek and not so tongue-in-cheek Poet’s Corner contributions are from Damian Balassone.</p> <address><a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://inreview.com.au/contributors/compiled-by-john-miles/" class="author">Compiled by John Miles</a></address> <h2><a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#the-new-book" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="the-new-book"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"/></svg></a><strong>The New Book</strong></h2> <p>The revered writer releases his new<br />book to universal acclaim. Though<br />the book has a title, there’s nothing<br />inside it – every page is completely<br />blank. There’s something about the<br />book’s minimalist concept that<br />captures the imagination of artists<br />and critics alike. The author laps up<br />the praise as he travels across the<br />country promoting it. At one<br />particular press conference he’s<br />confronted by an inexperienced<br />journalist who insists on mentioning<br />that this so-called masterpiece has<br />nothing in it. The revered writer is<br />offended by the audacity of this<br />young punk and responds by saying:<br />‘Perhaps the real issue is that you’re<br />jealous of my success.’</p> <h2><a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#epigram-the-importance-of-religion" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="epigram-the-importance-of-religion"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"/></svg></a><strong>Epigram: The Importance of Religion</strong></h2> <p>Those who loathe religion<br />are slow to contemplate<br />that Lennon met McCartney<br />at the church fête.</p> <p><em><strong>Damian Balassone,</strong> from Warrandyte, Victoria, is the author of three volumes of poetry, including the forthcoming collection of short poems and epigrams Love is a Weird Cat.</em></p> <h5><a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#readers-original-and-unpublished-poems-of-up-to-40-lines-can-be-emailed-with-postal-address-to-poetscornersolsticemedia-com-au-submissions-should-be-in-the-body-of-the-email-not-as-attac" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="readers-original-and-unpublished-poems-of-up-to-40-lines-can-be-emailed-with-postal-address-to-poetscornersolsticemedia-com-au-submissions-should-be-in-the-body-of-the-email-not-as-attac"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"/></svg></a><strong>Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.</strong></h5> <p>This article is republished from <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://inreview.com.au">InReview</a> under a Creative Commons licence. Read the <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2024/02/07/poems-the-new-book-and-the-importance-of-religion/">original article</a>.</p> <link href="https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2024/02/07/poems-the-new-book-and-the-importance-of-religion/" rel="canonical"/> <p><a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://inreview.com.au">InReview</a> is an open access, non-profit arts and culture journalism project. Readers can <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://artists.australianculturalfund.org.au/s/project/a2E9q0000008PVN/inreview-sa-20222023">support our work with a donation</a>. Subscribe to InReview’s free weekly newsletter <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://inreview.com.au/subscribe/">here</a>.</p> <p> <img decoding="async" src="https://inreview.com.au/pixel2.png?cc_article=poems-the-new-book-and-the-importance-of-religion" width="1" height="1"/></p> <p>
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