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'In his first full volume of poetry since Typewriter Music in 2007, David Malouf once again shows us why he is one of Australia's most enduring and respected writers.' (Publisher's blurb)
Contents
- Aquariusi"One of those sovereign days that might seem never", single work poetry (p. 1)
- Radiancei"Not all come it", single work poetry (p. 2-3)
- Retrospecti"A day at the end of winter. Two young men,", single work poetry (p. 4-5)
- Toccatai"Out of such and such and so much bric-a-brac.", single work poetry (p. 6)
- Dot Poem, the Connectionsi"Before I had words", single work poetry (p. 7)
- Footloose, a Senior Momenti"An after-dinner sleep", single work poetry (p. 8-9)
- Entreatyi"After the Age of Innocence, golden brawlers", single work poetry (p. 10-11)
- Whistling in the Darki"Seeking a mind in the machine, and in constellations, however", single work poetry (p. 12-13)
- Ladybirdi"Childhood visitors", single work poetry (p. 14-15)
- Touching the Earthi"The season when all is scrabble,", single work poetry (p. 16-17)
- Garden Poems, sequence poetry (p. 16-19)
- The Spelli"Needlepoints of light", single work poetry (p. 17-18)
- Afteri"I bend to it willingly, this patch", single work poetry (p. 18-19)
- Inner Cityi"A picture-book street with pop-up gardens, asphalt", single work poetry (p. 20-21)
- An Aside on the Sublimei"A Ground Thrush", single work poetry (p. 22-23)
- Sky Newsi"A listening post", single work poetry (p. 24-25)
- Treesi"Trees have their own lives, simple", single work poetry (p. 26)
-
Rondeau II, Pop Songi"As long as",
single work
poetry
(p. 27)
Note: With title: Rondeau
- Two Odes of Horace, sequence poetry (p. 28)
- Odes I, xxviii"I'm over it. the floral", David Malouf (translator), single work poetry (p. 28)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Sky News and Compost : David Malouf’s An Open Book
2019
single work
essay
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , May 2019;'The Tao master Zhuangzi proverbially dreamed he was a butterfly, flitting and feeling truly a butterfly as he went. Upon awakening, he was no longer able to discern whether he had been a man dreaming he was a butterfly, or was a butterfly now dreaming he was a man.' (Introduction)
-
Sentimental Educations : The Poetry of David Malouf
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Feeding the Ghost : 1 : Criticism on Contemporary Australian Poetry 2018; (p. 85-111)'David Malouf's poetry, marvellous as it is, is only one, comparatively small, part of a literary output noted for the variety of his modes. It is difficult to name many other writers working in poetry, the novel, the short story, the memoir, the review, the play, the critical essay and even libretti. It's tempting to say that, as in Malouf's imaginative universe, the boundaries between these modes are more porous than usual. In fact it is not a matter of Malouf mastering and excelling in different modes, but rather one of his transforming the latent possibilities of existing modes in order to make them play a part in the unfolding and expansions of this universe.' (Introduction)
-
Sevles and Their Grace Notes : Poetry in Review
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Meanjin , Autumn vol. 74 no. 1 2015; (p. 68-77)
— Review of Earth Hour 2014 selected work poetry ; Devadatta’s Poems 2014 selected work poetry ; New Selected Poems 2013 selected work poetry ; Radiance 2014 selected work poetry ; The Beautiful Anxiety 2013 selected work poetry ; Final Theory 2014 selected work poetry -
David Malouf, Earth Hour
2014
single work
essay
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 74 no. 2 2014; (p. 80-95) -
Lucy Van Reviews Earth Hour by David Malouf
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , May no. 15 2014;
— Review of Earth Hour 2014 selected work poetry
-
Elegant Eloquence
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 1-2 March 2014; (p. 32-33) The Age , 1 March 2014; (p. 32)
— Review of A First Place 2014 selected work prose essay ; Earth Hour 2014 selected work poetry 'As he approaches his ninth decade, new poetry and a collection of essays remind us of the brilliance of David Malouf, writes Peter Craven.' -
The Lyric of Eden and Exile
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 1-2 March 2014; (p. 16-17)
— Review of Earth Hour 2014 selected work poetry -
For the Love of Language
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 1 March 2014; (p. 21)
— Review of Earth Hour 2014 selected work poetry -
The Getting of Wisdom
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 8 March 2014; (p. 19)
— Review of Earth Hour 2014 selected work poetry -
Counterworlds
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , March no. 359 2014;
— Review of Earth Hour 2014 selected work poetry -
Chapter & Verse
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: Brisbane News , March 5-11 no. 970 2014; (p. 10-11) -
Words Are Everything for Malouf
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 4 March 2014; (p. 6) -
Silence and Poetic Inwardness in the Writings of David Malouf
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 2 2014;'James Tulip's argument that David Malouf's ‘achievement is essentially that of a poet’ seems cogent, not only because of Malouf's lifelong commitment to poetry but because his novellas (and at least sections of his novels) might be read as long prose poems. These novellas do contain narratives but they are not driven by narrative. Nor are they most notable in the Modernist way as character studies; the novellas' characters do not engage in extensive social interaction. Rather, as individuals they engage in ideas, in existential contemplations of the self meeting a rich but complex universe. Dante always seems very separate from Johnno; Ovid is in exile; the terrorist in 'Child's Play' hardly talks to his colleagues. In fact, in their climaxes the main characters turn away from the possibilities of social interaction to achieve a state of equanimity in silence: the terrorist walking under apple blossom, Ovid as he steps into ‘clear sunlight’, Carney cleansing himself in the stream and Adair eating bread in an ‘outpouring’ of early morning light. In this retreat they resemble to some extent Horace on his Sabine farm, Montaigne on his Bordeaux estate, and Voltaire at Ferney – the tradition that Malouf describes in his essay on ‘The Happy Life’. Malouf's characters may be seen in opposition to contemporary society's ‘fear of inactivity, of stillness; most of all of the withdrawal of every form of chatter or noise in an extended and unendurable silence’. Adair wonders whether ‘what we are really committed to in our hearts is an unceasing motion’.
'It is poets who have found value in silence and recollections of tranquillity; Keats's sweeter ‘unheard music’ represented a silence that was a kind of perfection, not just the absence of noise, and the French Symbolistes were intent on finding it. Malouf's characters differ from Horace, Montaigne and Voltaire in that they stumble on silence or have it thrust upon them. However, this does not reduce the meaningfulness of the silence they experience. Malouf is neither a classical figure, a Renaissance humanist, nor a man of the Englightenment, although his writing evinces some empathy with all three. He is a modern figure who thinks our world and us ‘an accident’ so that we must find meaning where we can. His characters seem to find that meaning outside fictive realism in a mystical equanimity discovered only through a personal retreat and silence that is at odds with the contemporary world and its attitudes. This paper seeks to explore that process as presented in Malouf's prose and poetry.' (Publication abstract)
-
Appreciating David Malouf As Poet
2014
single work
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 2 2014; 'This personal reading of David Malouf's poetry during fifty years ranges from his earliest dramatic lyrics through his European-Australian comparisons to the time in the 1970s when novel writing became his dominant concern. It then touches on Malouf's response to the cultural and intellectual changes of the 1970s, and finally returns to his recent rewarding philosophic style of lyrical reflection. The paper argues for sustained poetic interest and concerns within Malouf's writing.' (Publication abstract) -
David Malouf, Earth Hour
2014
single work
essay
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 74 no. 2 2014; (p. 80-95)
Awards
- 2016 shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards — Poetry
- 2015 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Poetry
- 2015 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
- 2015 shortlisted ASAL Awards — ALS Gold Medal
- 2014 winner Queensland Literary Awards — Judith Wright Calanthe Award