- Jun 17
- 0 min read
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- Jun 16
- 2 min read
June 25, 2026. A review of Locust by Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Professor Emeritus of Natural Sciences & Humanities, University of Wyoming: 'As an acridologist, who has studied grasshoppers and locusts extensivelty, I find the parallels [in the Locust suite] most intriguing. Locusts exploit an abundant, ephemeral energy source during rainy years that produce plenty of plants—and humans exploited an abundant, ephemeral energy source during the industrial revolution.
In a sense, how could either species have foregone the incredible opportunity? Both species are drawn into a kind of positive feedback system such that MORE becomes the driving motive.
While locusts are cannibalistic (this behavior may well play a role moving a band of nymphs forward to avoid the laggards becoming a snack), we cannibalize the slow, weak, and vulnerable—at least metaphorically.
Speaking of metaphors, there would appear to be something of a disanalogy between a locust swarm and our "man swarm" of 8.3 billion people (there's a book by that title by Dave Foreman).
That is, of course, that locusts have no leader in their anarchistic state, while a clear leader emerges in a fascist or authoritarian state (terms used by political scientists to describe Donald Trump's United States of America).
However, we might think of natural selection as being the "leader" of locust behavior—and natural selection can be a brutal, amoral force perhaps not unlike America's narcissistic president (so maybe the disanalogy becomes an analogy?).
And finally, there's an interesting parallel to thoughtful and greedy humans in Aesop's fable of "The Ant and The Grasshopper" in which the ant looks to the future and saves food for the hard times ahead, and the grasshopper attends only to present pleasures of summer.
So, will the ant's perspective emerge in the coming years, or are we doomed to a deadly winter—or in our case, a searing summer.
The word locust is said to derive from the Latin phrase locus ustus, which translates to "burnt place." How darkly ironic that humans (2-legged locusts) are converting ecosystems to burnt place via wildfire and global warming.'
Jeffrey A. Lockwood
Professor Emeritus of Natural Sciences & Humanities
University of Wyoming
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July 2, 2026. South Sydney Herald review :
‘There’s more to Locust than its poetry! Like tiny triggers that provoke grasshopper-to-locust plague, Joel O’Connor prods us with hints and historical topics to think outside the box.’
Celia Berrell, reviewer and host of www.sciencerhymes.com.au
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June 12, 2026. Independent Australia review June 2026:
‘In the nine-poem epic Locust, highlighted first in the collection, O’Connor uses the metaphor of the locust to liken a locust swarm to how a nation might slide into fascism. He celebrates bringing scientific knowledge and poetry together.’
Jenny England, reviewer and Australian author, journalist and poet
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June 8, 2026. I'm delighted my Locust poetry suite is getting good coverage around Australia and the world:
Cascadia Poetry Lab, in Seattle, recently did a podcast with me about the work:
Here is Cascadia's write-up that accompanies the podcast:
https://cascadiapoeticslab.org/2026/06/interview-with-joel-oconnor-about-locust
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My work has also been featured through Global Locust Network:
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Here also is my audio upload of a full Locust reading:
- Jun 6
- 1 min read
Our feet are roughly
A foot long
At least we've got
The measure
Of that one
But still
Our nose
Knows nothing
And out toes
Can't tow a thing
Our eyes are
Shaped like O's
And we've misnamed
Our elbows
They don't bow
They bend
Although you can use them
For a regal bow,
Every now and then.
Our nails are what come off
Second best
When a hammer and nail
Have struck them.
Our bottom sits
In our middle
not at our end
Mind you,
In two bits not one,
Unlike our lips
Which too have a crack
But at least we count
Their sum.
Our eyelashes may bat
But never whip
Our belly may growl
But never chime
Our shoulders?
Maybe we
Should call
Should-ers
As they shrug
When we think
What we
Should'a done.
We have forearms
But only
Two of them
Forearmed but not
Forewarned
And while we have forearms
We've not forelegs
Because that
Would just
Not make
Horse-sense
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