ISBN 978-1-922776-34-1.
Lorne Johnson’s first full length poetry collection How Best to Feed Reindeer is a fine sequel to his widely admired pamphlet Morton published by Pitt Street Poetry just a decade ago in 2016. It demonstrates once again his gifts as a photographer as well as a thoughtful poet of the natural world.
The poems in How Best to Feed Reindeer are presented in three parts – the first documents a visit to the disputed territory of Ladakh. His words and images capture something of the essence of that beautiful, troubled part of the world. The second section ‘Accidental Poetry’ draws from the diverse streams of his urban life as a young Sydney poet: the unforgettable twinkle toes of ‘The Bloke Who Installed Our Carpets’, a memorable reading by the great Les Murray at Gleebooks, a bon mot from a brief encounter with Robert Gray. The third section collects 12 haiku written over 12 days on Honshu Island.
Lorne Johnson’s perceptive eye and quirky, memorable voice bring this book to life and repay the reader with a warm mix of insights from far away lands to the near and dear.