Alison Croggon
Alison Croggon is a poet and fantasy novelist who has also done extensive theatre work. She was poetry editor for Overland Extra (1992), Modern Writing (1992-94) and Voices (1996) and was founding editor of the literary arts journal Masthead. In 2000 she was the Australia Council writer in residence at Cambridge University, UK.
Her poetry has been published widely and internationally. Her first book of poems, This is the Stone, won the 1991 Anne Elder and Dame Mary Gilmore Prizes. Her second book of poems, The Blue Gate, was released in 1997 and was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Poetry Prize. Alison’s theatre work includes operas, plays and many of her poems have also been set to music by a variety of composers.
Her latest book is the third book of Pellinor, The Crow. The first book in the series, The Gift, has recently been published in Germany to rave reviews. The fourth and final book of Pellinor, The Singing, was published in July 2008.
Alison lives in Melbourne.
Website: http://www.alisoncroggon.com
Books by Alison Croggon
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Attempts At Being
Often shifting and allusive, Croggon’s poems can convey the ‘strangeness of dream’, slipping in and out of styles as readily as an amphibian slips from land to water.
Shortlisted Kenneth Slessor Poetry Prize 2002
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Nominated Pushcart Prize 2002 -
The Gift: The First Book of Pellinor
An inspiring, glittering saga surrounding the astonishing gift of a young girl, Maerad. She and her teacher Cadvan must survive a punishing and uncertain journey through a time and place where the dark forces they battle with stem from the deepest recesses of other-worldly terror.
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The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor
Maerad is a girl with a tragic and bitter past, but her powers grow stronger by the day. Now she and her mentor, Cadvan, pursued by both the Light and the Dark, are seeking the Riddle of the Treesong - the key to restoring peace to the ravaged kingdom.
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The Common Flesh: New and Selected Poems
The Common Flesh is Alison Croggon's third full-length collection of poetry. It is a compelling work in which the often very personal subject-matter of the poems is expressed, as the poet says, "to create a quality of tension between raw emotional immediacy and a formal poetic aesthetic...".
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With their structural delicacy, emotional impact and archetypal resonances, these are powerful and enduring poems. -
The Crow: The Third Book of Pellinor
The earth is poisoned by a deep wrongness and the forces of the Nameless One grow ever stronger. The Treesong - the key to restoring peace - is lost, and only Hem's sister, Maerad, can unravel its mysteries. While she seeks answers in the north, Hem is sent south to Turbansk with his guardian, Saliman. Troubled and unhappy, Hem is haunted by his bitter past and uncertain of his future, as evil forces threaten to destroy the city. But his destiny may be linked to the Treesong more closely than he knows . . .
The Crow is an amazing tale filled with extremes of horror and beauty, set against the unforgettable landscapes of Edil-Amarandh. This third book in the highly acclaimed Pellinor sequence, follows Hem's perilous journey - aided by his pet crow, Irc - as he spies on the child armies of the Dark.
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November Burning
NEW from VAGABOND PRESS, 2004 Rare Objects Series NOVEMBER BURNING
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Mnemosyne
The poem Mnemosyne, was published as a chapbook by Wild Honey Press in December 2001.
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The Singing
The fourth and final book in the critically acclaimed Pellinor series
In a desperate race against the Dark, Maerad must try to solve the final riddle of the Treesong. Only then will the Nameless One be defeated and peace resotred to the Seven Kingdoms. But Maerad only holds the key to hald the riddle - her long-lost brother, Hem, has the other.
Before embarking on a perilous journey to find Hem, Maerad must first wage an epic war against the Landrost. And Hem, fleeing the advances of the Black Army, must endure betrayal and mortal illness in his search for Maerad.
But the Dark grows ever more powerful - will brother and sister reach one another in time or will all be lost in a final, apocalyptic battle?
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