Anna Buck was undoubtedly the best poet to hail from the south east said Tim Metcalf at Friday night's launch of the late artist's collected works. No small praise coming from a fellow accomplished poet.
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The book launch and retrospective of Ms Buck's lifetime of work was enjoyed by a room full of family, close friends, and numerous Far South Coast poets who were touched by her in some way before her death from cancer in October 2018.
Several of them gave readings of poems from the new collection Maybe Street - it was particularly emotional to hear one of Ms Buck's poems read in her own voice through a recording Dr Metcalf had on file.
Dr Metcalf selected and compiled Maybe Street over the past couple of years, and offered a glimpse of Ms Buck's wealth of talent at Friday's launch in the Bega Civic Centre.
The title piece, Maybe Street, was shortlisted for the Newcastle Prize in 2004 and by 2008 she had appeared in the prestigious Best Australian Poems anthology four times - a rare feat.
As well as her poetry, Ms Buck's other writings and visual arts were on show as part of a retrospective following the book launch.
Guests enjoyed food, drinks and musical entertainment before taking in a slideshow of photos from the Bucks' life in the Bega Valley as well as Anna's talent with either a paintbrush or a pen in her hand.
Ben Smyth
I have worked as a journalist since 2005 and am now Editor of Australian Community Media mastheads in Bega, Merimbula and Eden
I have worked as a journalist since 2005 and am now Editor of Australian Community Media mastheads in Bega, Merimbula and Eden
