Poems by Michael Atherton -
‘A Sydney Calendar’ highlights the life of Sydney as the months pass by and the seasons change. During the year, we celebrate events such as Anzac Day, and ‘Vivid’ — a festival of light and sound.  ‘Sonifications’ reflects the life of a career musician who travelled the world, learned diverse musical instruments and enjoyed multicultural collaborations. There is, for me, an intriguing overlap between the sounds of nature and the sounds of culture.  ‘Poems of a Single Breath’ comprises the four elements, Earth, Water, Air and Fire, with the addition of Metal and Seasons. It follows the seventeenth-century practice exemplified by Basho in adhering to three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables.  ‘Haiku Images’ joins images and text using photos  captured with a camera and an iPhone. They complement each other emphasising nature and the built environment.

Adapted and edited by Michael Atherton

In Exile from Saint Petersburg (2017), Brandl & Schlesinger, follows the life of a man who survived pogroms, incarceration, and exile, but never faltered in his desire to publish works that would enrich culture and society. From his son Anatol’s reading of the printer’s proofs of Trotsky’s The History of the Russian Revolution and encouraging his father to recall his memories, to Michael Atherton’s scholarship in bringing the biography to the public, In Exile from St Petersburg, engages the reader in the fascinating yet hitherto unknown journey of Abram Saulovich Kagan.