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'The final, posthumous collection of poems from Australia's unofficial poet laureate
'In a poetic gift from beyond the grave, Les Murray left a trove of last poems. These are poems he was working on up to his death, as well as work uncovered from his scrapbooks and files.
'Various, intriguing and moving, this is a wonderful final collection from Australia's greatest poet - including a title poem that calls up the spirit of continuous creation, 'out of all that vanishes and all that will outlast us'.
'Continuous Creation is the perfect gift for long-time fans of Murray and new readers alike.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
Retouched with the Stone : On Les Murray’s “Continuous Creation”
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Los Angeles Review of Books , 21 October 2022;
— Review of Continuous Creation : Last Poems by Les Murray 2022 selected work poetry 'LES MURRAY, who died in 2019 after a short decline, inhabited Australia and its landscape so fully that his death meant something for the state of the language. “His poetry created a vernacular republic for Australia,” said his publisher, Black Inc., “a place where our language is preserved and renewed.” Or, in his own words, from 1998’s “Evening Alone at Bunyah”: “This country is my mind. […] We burgeoned and spread far.” Continuous Creation: Last Poems shows the late poet of 50-some-odd years, a poet of animal noises, of jingles, of unpainted landscapes, whose cardinal directions were “rig,” “tat,” and “scunge,” writing, for the first time perhaps, notary, regretful poems. The posthumous book begins — almost preemptively — with “A Note on the Text” from editor Jamie Grant, who outlines the conditions under which the book was written and compiled: “Les continued to refuse to enter the digital world himself” and “was almost completely immobile.” A poet of absolute tenacity, too.'(Introduction)
-
Magician of the Mundane
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 19 March 2022; (p. 14)
— Review of Continuous Creation : Last Poems by Les Murray 2022 selected work poetry'Les Murray was a mesmerising poet because he had a technique that could encompass the world. He had a magical sense of music and of rhythm as a driving force.'
-
On Reading Continuous Creation
i
"The silence",
2022
single work
poetry
— Appears in: Quadrant , April vol. 66 no. 4 2022; (p. 74) -
All That Will Outlast Us
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , April vol. 66 no. 4 2022; (p. 75-77)
— Review of Continuous Creation : Last Poems by Les Murray 2022 selected work poetry -
Les Murray : Continuous Creation
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 12-18 March 2022;
— Review of Continuous Creation : Last Poems by Les Murray 2022 selected work poetry'I have spent decades tussling with the poetry of Les Murray, just as I did in my friendly but contending and disputing personal interactions with him. This book of “last poems”, based on “three-quarter’s of a book’s worth” of poems respectfully consolidated and added to from other uncollected material by poet Jamie Grant, throws up many familiar issues for me.' (Introduction)
-
A Parting Gift : The Final Poems
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 26 February 2022; (p. 12)
— Review of Continuous Creation : Last Poems by Les Murray 2022 selected work poetry -
Les Murray : Continuous Creation
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 12-18 March 2022;
— Review of Continuous Creation : Last Poems by Les Murray 2022 selected work poetry'I have spent decades tussling with the poetry of Les Murray, just as I did in my friendly but contending and disputing personal interactions with him. This book of “last poems”, based on “three-quarter’s of a book’s worth” of poems respectfully consolidated and added to from other uncollected material by poet Jamie Grant, throws up many familiar issues for me.' (Introduction)
-
All That Will Outlast Us
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , April vol. 66 no. 4 2022; (p. 75-77)
— Review of Continuous Creation : Last Poems by Les Murray 2022 selected work poetry -
Magician of the Mundane
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 19 March 2022; (p. 14)
— Review of Continuous Creation : Last Poems by Les Murray 2022 selected work poetry'Les Murray was a mesmerising poet because he had a technique that could encompass the world. He had a magical sense of music and of rhythm as a driving force.'
-
Retouched with the Stone : On Les Murray’s “Continuous Creation”
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Los Angeles Review of Books , 21 October 2022;
— Review of Continuous Creation : Last Poems by Les Murray 2022 selected work poetry 'LES MURRAY, who died in 2019 after a short decline, inhabited Australia and its landscape so fully that his death meant something for the state of the language. “His poetry created a vernacular republic for Australia,” said his publisher, Black Inc., “a place where our language is preserved and renewed.” Or, in his own words, from 1998’s “Evening Alone at Bunyah”: “This country is my mind. […] We burgeoned and spread far.” Continuous Creation: Last Poems shows the late poet of 50-some-odd years, a poet of animal noises, of jingles, of unpainted landscapes, whose cardinal directions were “rig,” “tat,” and “scunge,” writing, for the first time perhaps, notary, regretful poems. The posthumous book begins — almost preemptively — with “A Note on the Text” from editor Jamie Grant, who outlines the conditions under which the book was written and compiled: “Les continued to refuse to enter the digital world himself” and “was almost completely immobile.” A poet of absolute tenacity, too.'(Introduction)
-
In His Last Poems, Les Murray Offers a Gentle, Gracious Bow of Farewell, and Just a Few Barbs
2022
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 28 February 2022;'There are so many strange serendipities, and antipathies, forged across Les Murray’s work, verbal, historical and spiritual. In Continuous Creation also, Murray’s last, posthumous book (published almost three years after he died in a nursing home in Taree) these counterpoints and challenges await readers, mostly in gentle forms.' (Introduction)
-
On Reading Continuous Creation
i
"The silence",
2022
single work
poetry
— Appears in: Quadrant , April vol. 66 no. 4 2022; (p. 74)
