Leni Shilton

Leni Shilton is a poet and educator. She grew up in Papua New Guinea and Melbourne, and lives in Mparntwe | Alice Springs. She has written two verse novels: Malcolm (2019 UWAP) and Walking with camels – the story of Bertha Strehlow (2018 UWAP), the winner of the 2020 Chief Ministers Fiction Book Award. Her writing regularly appears in anthologies and journals including APJ, Cordite, Plumwood Mountain and Best of Australian Poetry 2022. Leni won the 2022 Inaugural Born Writers Award for her poetry collection Voices.

Articles by Leni Shilton:

31 March 202314 April 2023 · Poetry

Poetry | Dog walking in the desert

Leni Shilton

Mparntwe | Alice Springs claypans Each time you walk take a bag for the rubbish, for the weeds. Stride out then confuse the dog as you stop over and over, like you are picking at treasure. You dig with the heel of your boot at the sea of three-corner-jack prickles and remind yourself next time to bring gloves.