Luke Patterson: A Savage Turn

Gamilaroi author and Next Chapter fellowship recipient Luke Patterson launches his electrifying debut poetry collection, A Savage Turn.  

A Savage Turn is the searing debut from Gamilaroi author and poet, Luke Patterson. With biting wit and refreshing insight into modern and traditional life, Patterson takes readers to forest billabongs, to prisons and into nightmares of the not-so-distant past.  

Developed as a part of The Wheeler Centre’s Next Chapter fellowship in 2021 under the mentorship of Alison Whittaker, A Savage Turn is a seductive and subversive contribution to the Australian literary landscape. Hailed as ‘a glorious collection full of heart, sweat and furious love’ (Jazz Money), this collection fearlessly sends up the Australian dream and subverts all expectations.  

Join Patterson as he sits down to discuss history, inheritance and drawing on a kaleidoscope of influences in the development of this powerful work.