A philosopher sets about compiling an encyclopaedia of embraces; an artist accuses her mirror of a lifetime of dishonesty; a flâneur collects melodies from the faces of passing strangers; an author envisions the ultimate map charting every single move of his existence; a girl dreams of a magic box that would tell her everything…Switchpoints, Alex Skovron’s twelfth book, is a collection of 100 short narrative pieces, some in prose, others in verse. It is inhabited by a broad assortment of individuals of all ages, from children to the elderly, visited at particular and possibly significant moments in their daily life – moments of doubt or discovery, inertia or inspiration, of personal reflection, reminiscence or philosophical musing. There are skewed apprehensions and tender recognitions, lingering regrets and poignant realisations – ‘switchpoint’ moments that trigger a jolt in thought or demeanour, or signal a shift in viewpoint or sense of self; or may not. The prod might be a line from a novel or poem, a painting or a piece of music, a landmark, a famous disaster, or perhaps no more than a sudden idea, a fading dream or an elusive recollection. Underpinning it all is a fascination with the workings of mind, the riddles of memory, the mystique of time.
About the Author :
Alex Skovron was born in Poland, lived briefly in Israel, and emigrated to Australia in 1958, aged nearly ten. His family settled in Sydney, where he grew up and completed his studies. From the early 1970s he worked as a book editor in Sydney and (after 1980) Melbourne. He is married, with two adult children and five grandchildren. Skovron's poetry has appeared widely in Australia and overseas. His seven previous collections are: The Rearrangement (1988, which won the Anne Elder and Mary Gilmore awards and was shortlisted in the NSW Premier's Awards), Sleeve Notes (1992), Infinite City: 100 Sonnetinas (1999, shortlisted in the Age Book of the Year and Victorian Premier's Awards), The Man and the Map (2003), Autographs: 56 poems in prose (2008), Towards the Equator: New & Selected Poems (2014, shortlisted in the Prime Minister's Literary Awards for 2015), and Letters from the Periphery (2021). Other awards have included the Wesley Michel Wright Prize for Poetry (twice), the John Shaw Neilson Poetry Award (twice), and the Peter Porter Poetry Prize. Concurrently with his poetry, Skovron has published intermittently in prose, including short stories, a novella, and the abovementioned Autographs. The novella, titled The Poet (2005), was joint winner of the FAW Christina Stead Award for a work of fiction. His collection of stories, The Man who Took to his Bed, was published in 2017. In 2023 Alex Skovron was honoured with the Patrick White Literary Award for his contribution to Australian literature.
