Born in New Jersey, Barbara Kamler came to Australia as a young teacher in the early 70’s and developed a distinguished career as an academic over the next forty years. Writer, researcher and storyteller, she has always sought to understand herself and the scattered communities of which she is a part, exploring themes of love—lost and found, memory, mobility and visceral connectivity.
Her debut poetry collection Leaving New Jersey (2016) is a memoir of fifty-six prose poems, recounting the story of leaving America and arriving in Australia (where Barbara did not plan to stay). Her poetry has appeared in such publications as The Age, The Australian, Australian Poetry Journal, Poetrix, Poetry New Zealand, as well as various anthologies. 'The usual questions do not pertain' was shortlisted for the 2017 Newcastle Poetry Prize. Her chapbook Two tales of long love (2019) is precursor to her most recent title Love, regardless, 14 narrative poems—based on interviews but transformed into rhythmic, syllabic verse—that celebrate long love, in all its diversity and permutations.
I acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which I live and write,
the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin nation, and pay my respects to Indigenous Elders past and present.