Born in Melbourne, Petr Malapanis has been writing for over 20 years. Some of her publications are as follows: in anthologies such as Mother Lode (Poetica Christi Press, 2003) and Set Free (2004); in the journal Etchings (vol. 4, 2008); in the coffee-table book, Reflecting on Melbourne – a vision of Melbourne through the eyes of some of its poets and artists’ (Poetica Christi Press, 2009); in the anthology Southern Sun, Aegean Light (Arcadia 2011), A Lightness of Being (Poetica Christi Press 2013) and as part of MSFW ARTZ in 2014. After some dirty dancing with breast cancer and a 2-year hiatus from writing completely, Petr finally articulated the experience in an intense feature at West Word in 2017. Unspeakable is her first solo offering. "In Unspeakable, writes Christos Tsiolkas in his introduction, “her astonishing suite of poems, the devastating and necessary eruptions of language are linked to the violence that is done to our bodies. The violence of disease. The violence of sexual abuse. The violence of racism. All these violences are cruel and savage. And yet, and yet, Malapanis has created something beautiful from all this damage... These poems speak to the bravery of Malapanis, and also to her success. They speak: eloquently, savagely and beautifully. They dance, they sing."