It’s true that poets have a kind of pirate code, a feature of which is the ‘book swap’—a poet of any standing can approach you at any time asking to exchange their book for yours. It’s a tradition rarely spoken about within our circles but it’s one that you come to learn. Every offer must be accepted, no exchange of cash. It’s a fringe system of words and ideas.

Keri Glastonbury calls Australian poetry a ‘gift economy’ and the book swap attests to that. It’s a wink and a nod among fellow scramblers, a small trade of our finest loot. The gesture is an act of camaraderie and perhaps sometimes an act of truce. These titles sit on our shelves, a reminder of readings and encounters, but mostly of the egality of letters.