By Rebecca Jessen
Poetry University of Queensland PressAsk Me About the Future

Full of zest and flair, Jessen's poems map constellations of desire, loss and longing. Riffing on the future (which isn't what it used to be), dating apps, despair, Bonnie Tyler, Taylor Swift and the lesbian Bachelorette, they are set in interstellar queer utopias, maternity wards and single beds.These are poems of sly surprises, radical vulnerability, dark-edged humour and vast originality. Following Jessen's award-winning verse novel, Gap,this collection confirms Jessen as one of the most engaging and talented writers of her generation.
Judges’ report
Ask Me About the Future is an acutely intimate and forthright journey through the many manifestations and difficulties of love. Jessen expertly weaves together lived experience and the social-political dimensions of gender and sexuality through a broad array of poetic forms. Invigorating in its unpredictable accumulation of themes and textures, the collection encompasses online dating, familial love and vulnerability, queer utopias, reality TV, biting satire on the marriage equality debate, and richly sorrowful lyrics of anxiety and trauma. These captivating poems are affirmations, both devastating and joyful.
Extract
An extract from Ask Me About the Future is available here.
The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards shortlist