Away from the City

Synopsis

Away from the City is an evocative collection of poems and photographs that observe the inhabitants of two cities on opposite sides of the world.

Set in Melbourne and Cambridge, these poems place you on each city's trains, buses and footpaths, witnessing the everyday interactions that embody urban life. From the daily commuter routine, to a struggling father's anguish, Away from the City captures images that so often become buried beneath the hectic consciousness of the city.

This innovative series is an exploration of the relationship between poetry, photography and place. These simple, everyday images transport you to the heart of each city to observe its inhabitants for yourself.

Praise for this Book

‘Lee Smith’s poems and photographs reward exploration. The dialogue between the two cities and the poet’s experience of them is a subtle one. Like all good poems they refuse to see the everyday as mundane but make it something other. These two cities give up their differences and their similarities, and both allow us to see how the city can impact on how we, as humans, choose to live or sometimes just survive there.’ —Andrea Porter

‘Writing in a deceptively simple, vivid style, Lee Smith has crafted a portrait of life on opposite sides of the globe that's much more than the sum of its observational parts. This elegant pamphlet announces the arrival of a poet with a fine ear, a sharp eye and a generous heart.’ —Andrew Philip