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Notes
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Author's Foreword: ... It seemed to me convenient to group what remained of the poems from my first two books, Green Lions and The White Cry, under the heading "Early New Zealand Poems"; and it was tempting to place with those, as I have done, a few nostalgic poems about my native land written during my first two or three years in Sydney: chiefly the title poem from "Elegy for an Airman" (1940) and "The River" (which was originally entitled "The Waingongoro", only nobody in Australia could pronounce that) which made its appearance in book form as late as 1946 in The Dosser in Springtime - however I think it was written some years before that. ...
One natural but disturbing result of omitting these wartime poems was, I discovered, that the selection then began to give the impression that the vast historical events of our time had made no impact on me at all: which was far from the truth. For this reason, among others, I have included a poem called 'The Breaking Wave' which does mention that there were such things as bombers and submarines disturbing our peace of mind; ..I suppose that on the whole my reaction to the violence of our time has been chiefly expressed, by image and implication, in the verse plays and Glencoe.
Partly for that reason, and partly because I do not think that in their merits and defects, they can reasonably be separated from the rest of my poetry, I have included here extracts from each of the plays. ... Finally, the selection is more up to date than either the Collected Poems or the small Selected Poems in the Australian Poet series. (v-vi).
Contents
- Green Lionsi"The bay is gouged by the wind", single work poetry (p. 3)
- Poplar in the Mimi Valleyi"The slate-blue snarl of storm is on the south", single work poetry (p. 3-4)
- Mending the Bridgei"Burnished with copper light, burnished,", single work poetry (p. 4-5)
- The Growing Strangenessi"I have a tree's tongue now and speak for stone", single work poetry (p. 5-6)
- Hostile Mountaini"Here is the patient hostility of rock", single work poetry (p. 6-7)
- Morningi"Move brownly now, and with a leafy rustle", single work poetry (p. 7-8)
- Crowdi"Each of this salt and sullen mass has once", single work poetry (p. 8)
- Shinbone and Mossi"To extricate the river from the willows,", single work poetry (p. 9-10)
- Watching the Milkingi"In the ashen evening a bird's song spouts in silver", single work poetry (p. 10-11)
- Heart of the Worldi"I feel now like some mariner who lies", single work poetry (p. 11)
- Momenti"The black cup of a winter dusk", single work poetry (p. 12)
- Tablet for the Lonely Wateri"Suppose the shifting white fire of her feet", single work poetry (p. 12-13)
- Ruinsi"Two golden butterflies mating over the ruins", single work poetry (p. 13)
- On the Crest of the Ridgei"So much of shade and silver, ridge and valley,", single work poetry (p. 14)
- Turn Eagle, Larki"O singing heart turn hawk; turn eagle, lark:", single work poetry (p. 14-15)
- Haystacki"The creamy frost of toi-toi plumes", single work poetry (p. 15-16)
- The White Cryi"Where boughs green not with leaves but moss", single work poetry (p. 16-17)
- Look Now for Country Atlasi"Soft weight of russet light", single work poetry (p. 17-18)
- Villagei"Mooning here and hungering after", single work poetry (p. 18)
- Perceived in Chill and Windy Duski"Perceived in chill and windy dusk", single work poetry (p. 19)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Glimpsing Heaven
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , July-August vol. 37 no. 7-8 1993; (p. 117-119)
— Review of Selected Poems 1993 selected work poetry ; Momentum 1992 selected work poetry ; The Floor of Heaven 1992 selected work poetry ; Sydney's Poems : A Selection on the Occasion of the City's One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary 1842-1992 1992 anthology poetry ; Selected Poems 1973 selected work poetry drama extract -
Poets and Possums
1973
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 2 June vol. 95 no. 4857 1973; (p. 54-55)
— Review of Selected Poems 1973 selected work poetry drama extract -
Two Perspectives in the Poetry of Douglas Stewart
1973
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , September vol. 33 no. 3 1973; (p. 286-299) Considerations : New Essays on Kenneth Slessor, Judith Wright and Douglas Stewart 1977; (p. 127-142)
-
Glimpsing Heaven
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , July-August vol. 37 no. 7-8 1993; (p. 117-119)
— Review of Selected Poems 1993 selected work poetry ; Momentum 1992 selected work poetry ; The Floor of Heaven 1992 selected work poetry ; Sydney's Poems : A Selection on the Occasion of the City's One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary 1842-1992 1992 anthology poetry ; Selected Poems 1973 selected work poetry drama extract -
Poets and Possums
1973
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 2 June vol. 95 no. 4857 1973; (p. 54-55)
— Review of Selected Poems 1973 selected work poetry drama extract -
Two Perspectives in the Poetry of Douglas Stewart
1973
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , September vol. 33 no. 3 1973; (p. 286-299) Considerations : New Essays on Kenneth Slessor, Judith Wright and Douglas Stewart 1977; (p. 127-142)
