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y separately published work icon What a Piece of Work single work   novel  
  • Author:agent Dorothy Porter http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/porter-dorothy
Issue Details: First known date: 1999... 1999 What a Piece of Work
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'As the new Superintendent at Callan Park Psychiatric Hospital, Dr Peter Cyren must perform medical alchemy - turn diseased minds into healthy ones. But in the case of his own soul, this sacred process works irrevocably in reverse.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Exhibitions

Notes

  • Novel in verse form.
  • Dedication: for Judith Beveridge
  • Epigraph: What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving, how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension, how like a god. William Shakespeare, Hamlet

    All the stages or processes of alchemy are distinguished by colours ... Latin alchemists nearly always commence with the nigredo, the dark, black stage of melancholy, death and mortification. Mark Haeffner, Dictionary of Alchemy

    For it was clear to the more astute alchemists that the prima materia of the art was man himself. C.G.Jung, Mysterium Conjunctionis

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Picador , 1999 .
      person or book cover
      Image courtesy of Pan Macmillan Australia
      Extent: 276p.
      ISBN: 0330361287
    • Balmain, Glebe - Leichhardt - Balmain area, Sydney Inner West, Sydney, New South Wales,: Ligature , 2019 .
      image of person or book cover 6883794021535198766.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 220p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 19th March 2019.
      ISBN: 9781925883169
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Untapped , 2021 .
      image of person or book cover 460677585368759874.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 1v.p.
      ISBN: 9781922730138
Alternative title: Che Gran Capolavoro
Language: Italian
    • Rome,
      c
      Italy,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Fandango Libri ,
      2001 .
      image of person or book cover 193582088316885685.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 225p.
      ISBN: 8887517207

Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.

Works about this Work

Australian Poetry : Reflections on Nature, Space and Identity Jayne Fenton-Keane , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Explorations In Australian Poetry 2010; (p. 1-40)
Jayne Fenton Keane's essay presents an overview of the many treatments of nature rendered by a host of contemporary Australian poets. (v)
Interview with Dorothy Porter Lesley Sly (interviewer), 2000 single work interview
— Appears in: Ulitarra , July no. 17/18 2000; (p. 65-77)
[Review] What a Piece of Work Deb Matthews-Zott , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Sidewalk , July no. 6 2000; (p. 71-72) Cordite Poetry Review , June no. 8 2001;

— Review of What a Piece of Work Dorothy Porter , 1999 single work novel
No Camps or Movements : Recent Poetry Tracy Ryan , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 45 no. 2000; (p. 78-92)

— Review of What a Piece of Work Dorothy Porter , 1999 single work novel ; The Scarring Geoff Page , 1999 single work novel ; Every Night They Dance Andy Kissane , 2000 selected work poetry ; Jaywalking Blues : poems Kevin Murray , 1999 selected work poetry ; Around Here Cath Kenneally , 1999 selected work poetry ; Surface Tension Debbie Westbury , 1998 selected work poetry ; Dear B Jennifer Harrison , 1998 selected work poetry ; Republics : Poems Christopher Kelen , 2000 selected work poetry ; Rogue Equations Wendy Jenkins , 2000 selected work poetry
It's Too Hard To Write Good : I'd Rather Write Bad Dorothy Porter , 2000 single work prose
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , December 1999 - February no. 16 2000; Australian Humanities Review , March - April no. 17 2000;
Dorothy Porter discusses her venture into writing for young adults.
[Review] What a Piece of Work Donna McSkimming , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: Screaming Hyena : E-Journal of Queer Writing and Review , August no. 17/18 1999;

— Review of What a Piece of Work Dorothy Porter , 1999 single work novel
Really Missing Modernism Lee Cataldi , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Spring no. 156 1999; (p. 102-106)

— Review of All Lies and Jests Scott Welsh , 1999 selected work poetry short story ; What a Piece of Work Dorothy Porter , 1999 single work novel ; Dedications S. C. Harrex , 1999 selected work poetry ; Surface Tension Debbie Westbury , 1998 selected work poetry ; Body-Flame : Poems Michael Heald , 1998 selected work poetry ; Gone Bush with Horrie and Me Barney Roberts , 1998 selected work poetry ; Editing the Moon Caroline Caddy , 1999 selected work poetry ; The Willing Eye : Poems Tracy Ryan , 1999 selected work poetry ; The Genius of Human Imperfection Jack Hibberd , 1998 selected work poetry ; Family Ties : Australian Poems of the Family 1998 anthology poetry ; August 6th Ken Bolton , 1999 selected work poetry ; Happy Accidents Ken Bolton , 1999 selected work poetry ; How Many Roads? : The Bob Dylan Theme Team Scott Welsh , 1998 selected work short story poetry
[Review] The Hanging of Jean Lee [and] What a Piece of Work Bev Braune , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: Heat , no. 12 1999; (p. 245-252)

— Review of The Hanging of Jean Lee Jordie Albiston , 1998 single work novel ; What a Piece of Work Dorothy Porter , 1999 single work novel
Gold Worth Digging For A. P. Riemer , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 6 February 1999; (p. 9)

— Review of What a Piece of Work Dorothy Porter , 1999 single work novel
Rhythm of Life in Nasty Verse Ken Bolton , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 13 February 1999; (p. 8)

— Review of What a Piece of Work Dorothy Porter , 1999 single work novel
Interview with Dorothy Porter Lesley Sly (interviewer), 2000 single work interview
— Appears in: Ulitarra , July no. 17/18 2000; (p. 65-77)
Australian Poetry : Reflections on Nature, Space and Identity Jayne Fenton-Keane , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Explorations In Australian Poetry 2010; (p. 1-40)
Jayne Fenton Keane's essay presents an overview of the many treatments of nature rendered by a host of contemporary Australian poets. (v)
Poetic Crusader Helen Elliott , 1999 single work criticism biography
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23-24 January 1999; (p. 10)
An Alchemist of the Human Spirit Philip O'Brien , 1999 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Canberra Times Sunday Times , 28 February 1999; (p. 18)
The Poetry of Stardom Georgina Safe , 2000 single work criticism biography
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 27-28 May 2000; (p. 19)
Last amended 6 Dec 2021 16:33:45
Settings:
  • Rozelle, Glebe - Leichhardt - Balmain area, Sydney Inner West, Sydney, New South Wales,
  • New York (City), New York (State),
    c
    United States of America (USA),
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    Americas,
  • 1960s
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