Amongst the madness of last year's silly season was a little oasis, namely the launch of local poet Suzanne Edgar's latest collection, The love procession. It was an oasis not only because the launch was for a book of poetry, but also because it took place in the peace of a garden. Poetry and gardens … Continue reading Suzanne Edgar, The love procession (Review)
Review – Poetry
Dame Mary Durack, Lament for the drowned country (Review)
Near the end of her book True north about Mary and Elizabeth Durack, biographer Brenda Niall writes of Mary Durack's poem, "Lament for the Drowned Country", which she says "has been judged her finest poem". Of course, with such a statement, I had to read it. I could have Googled* it, but I decided to check my … Continue reading Dame Mary Durack, Lament for the drowned country (Review)
Nora Krouk, Warming the core of things
life wrapped in bundles of painful joy (from "Skies will be luminous") The reason I like to read poetry is the obvious one - the way poets can capture a feeling or idea in just a few carefully chosen words that are presented through a controlled rhythm. Nora Krouk fills this bill nicely! I hadn't … Continue reading Nora Krouk, Warming the core of things
Ginny Jackson, The still deceived
Brother Gums and his partner, who live in our southernmost state, Tasmania, often give me books by local writers, many of whom I may not easily come across on "the mainland". Their offering last Christmas was one of these, The still deceived, a collection of poems by Ginny Jackson. It was published by one of Australia's … Continue reading Ginny Jackson, The still deceived
Weekends with T.S. Eliot (2)
We are all everyone and everyone is us. (Fiona Shaw, talking about The waste land) Last weekend I finished the Perspectives section of The waste land app, by listening to Fiona Shaw, Frank Turner and Jeanette Winterson. The fascinating thing is that they all say the same things, albeit in slightly different ways. Timeless, universal, undated Shaw … Continue reading Weekends with T.S. Eliot (2)
Weekends with TS Eliot
In which I further exploring the iPad app for TS Eliot's The waste land, particularly in terms of the poem's sound/musicality.
TS Eliot’s The waste land, app-style
Hands up if you've seen Touchpress's gorgeous iPad app for TS Eliot's poem The wasteland? Now, if your hand is up, why didn't you tell me about it? Luckily, though, I have a real-life, dinky-di librarian friend who told me what my online friends didn't! This is not going to be a proper review as … Continue reading TS Eliot’s The waste land, app-style
Edward Field, WWII (Poem)
Well, Library of America has surprised again. This week it is a poem (6 pages). I wasn't expecting that, but as I like to delve into poetry every now and then I was rather pleased. The poem, "WWII" by Edward Field, was first published in 1967 in a collection titled Poets of World War II. … Continue reading Edward Field, WWII (Poem)
Dorothy Porter, The bee hut
The most powerful presence is absence (from "Egypt") The above lines open Australian poet Dorothy Porter's The bee hut, a collection of poems mostly writen in the last five years of her life. The lines are prophetic ... and they appropriately open a collection which deals very much, though not exclusively, with the tension between life … Continue reading Dorothy Porter, The bee hut
Geoff Page, The scarring
Geoff Page (born 1940) is a Canberra-based poet who has been active in the Australian poetry scene for many decades now. He was also, for nearly three decades, an English teacher. Page has published several volumes of poetry and at least three verse novels, of which The scarring is his first. The scarring, which I … Continue reading Geoff Page, The scarring
Whispering Gums 