Bellend

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  • Published 20250204
  • ISBN: 978-1-923213-04-3
  • Extent: 196 pp
  • Paperback, ebook. PDF

‘Nice little bell, buddy,’ snipes some guy holding 

space in the bike lane as I nearly swipe him 

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About the author

Toby Fitch

Toby Fitch is poetry editor of Overland and a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Sydney. He is the author of eight...

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