Tickets to the Fall of Icarus

Tickets to the Fall of Icarus charts the flight of two flamboyant characters, Icarus and Audrey, as they navigate their way through the maelstrom of modern life amidst natural disasters, pandemics, online dating and even a little self-sabotage.

In artfully executed narrative poetry, Gering deploys his inimitable style and humour to bring characters into dynamic life on the page. There are few readers who won’t see glimmers or shards of themselves in Audrey and Icarus.

These vignettes are surprising, bittersweet and strangely insightful as they coalesce in a collection that is a challenging but joyful exploration of what it means to be alive and incisively engaged in the 21st century.

Reviews
Full of literary references, puns and wit, this collection is a waterfall of mordant humour, note-perfect and a mirror to our post-pandemic selves. Read it in a rush or savour the sly satire — or just gorge on the whimsy and poetic spell-making. You’ll want to rush into the Australian bush to stash vodka and Lion Stout and make your own bottle sculpture by the road. And, of course, fall in love.
– Anna Kerdijk Nicholson, author of Possession and Everyday Epic

Gering achieves artistic flair through deft control of language and shots of Kafkaesque absurdism. This collection might be an invitation to dive deep into the blind-spot of the Johari window, that psychological tool to better understand our relationships and some frightening aspects of ourselves. But, hey, ultimately it’s the landing that kills you, not the fall itself. So, through Gering’s poignant yet bitingly honest storytelling, let’s enjoy the flight!
– Daniel Ionita, author of Pentimento

James Gering, poet, diarist and short story writer, is an ASA Poet of the Year, and he's received various international awards for his stories and poems. His writing has appeared in many journals around the world including Meanjin, Cordite, Rattle and Shot Glass Journal. His first collection of poetry, Staying Whole While Falling Apart, was released by Interactive Press in 2021. James lives in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. There he climbs the cliffs and hikes the trails in search of Beveridge's wisdom, Ernaux's emotional truth and Kafka's dreamscapes. James welcomes visitors at jamesgering.com.