Poetry frequently warrants an element of autobiography. Broadly, it conveys a truth not produced in fiction. You may find yourself, when reading some of these pieces, with an urge to reach out to the poet, such is their evocatively traumatic content. Yet it is the heartbreak and despair of writer's block that is at the core of much of this verse.

There is plenty of tragedy throughout the poems and a sense of existential distress. Yet, moments of crisis often inspire creativity. There is an adage derived from the phenomenologists suggesting that one must have a breakdown in order to have a breakthrough. We see Bianca Bowers at her best in Thief in crisis moments, with meditations on time stealing youth, on artistic needs both material and sublime, and on the rejection of social norms.

Ironically, the poet bleeds onto the page, creating a work of great beauty. In her sixth poetry collection, Bianca Bowers' Thief encapsulates a determination to work through writer's block, with the undoubted implication that the phenomenon is a myth. The success of this poetic endeavour is testament to that.

-Richard Gibney

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