The Best Australian Poetry series, now in its seventh year, is widely recognised as the most reliable guide to what is new and remarkable in Australian poetry. Alan Wearne, guest editor of the 2009 volume, brings to this collection his endless inquisitiveness and his mastery of the infinite complexity of Australian social life. His selection of 40 poems from Australia's print and online journals shows us of the many radically different ways that poetry can portray lives. With poems from both well-known and up-and-coming Australian poets, including Robert Adamson, Rosemary Dobson, L.K. Holt, John Kinsella, Les Murray, Geoff Page, Peter Porter, Jaya Savige, Peter Skrzynecki and Thomas Shapcott, Alan Wearne has compiled an imaginative and entertaining collection. Together with specially requested commentary from the contributing poets, The Best Australian Poetry 2009 is the most reliable barometer of what's new and exciting in Australian poetry.