In 2015 I travelled to Los Angeles to catch up with Luke Davies for tea on his front porch, against a backdrop of palm trees, hummingbirds and police helicopters—known locally as ‘ghetto birds’. Born in Sydney in 1962, Davies is the author of three novels, including the semi-autobiographical Candy, which was adapted into the film starring Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish, and five collections of poetry. In 2007 he moved to Los Angeles and has established himself there as a screenwriter and script editor. His most recent feature, Lion, will be released this year. This interview follows on from one former Meanjin editor Sophie Cunningham conducted with Davies in 2008.

Louise Carter: You’ve been in Los Angeles for the last eight years. Has it influenced your poetry?

Luke Davies: I’m sure it has, I mean the answer has to be yes but only in the sense that wherever I would have been living for the last eight years, those circumstances would have influenced my poetry. However, specifically in relation to LA, I’ve always secretly liked the fact that Theodor Adorno came here after the war and was writing some of his most amazing work here among the palm trees in the weird, sunbaked heat—coming out of that darkness of Europe.