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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The poems in Judith Wright's Birds volume have long been recognised as among the best-loved poems written in Australia. Many people have grown up with the beguiling rhythms of 'Black Cockatoos', or the jauntiness of 'The Wagtail'. Now, in this new edition, commemorating 25 years since the poems were last published as a single collection, these works appear with six additional poems and a personal introduction by the poet's daughter Meredith McKinney, for whom many of the poems were written. The poems are complemented by full-colour illustrations drawn from the National Library's Pictures Collection, featuring the work of artists such as John Lewin, Lionel Lindsay, Lilian Medland, William T. Cooper and Betty Temple Watts. 'Birds' is both a celebration of Judith Wright (1915-2000) as writer and passionate environmentalist, and of the centrality of birds in the poet's imagination. ' (Publication summary)
Notes
-
Dedication: For Meredith.
Contents
* Contents derived from the
Canberra,
Australian Capital Territory,:National Library of Australia
, 2003 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
- Birdsi"Whatever the bird is, is perfect in the bird.", single work poetry (p. 1)
- The Peacocki"Shame on the aldermen who locked", single work poetry (p. 8)
- The Blue Wrens and the Butcher-Birdi"Sweet and small the blue wren", single work poetry (p. 10-11)
- Eggs and Nestlingsi"The moss-rose and the palings made", single work poetry (p. 12)
- Winter Kestreli"Fierce with hunger and cold", single work poetry (p. 15)
- Currawongi"The currawong has shallow eyes-", single work poetry (p. 16)
- The Swamp Pheasanti"The swamp pheasant was wide awake", single work poetry (p. 18)
- Thornbillsi"Their tiny torrent of flight", single work poetry (p. 20)
- Black Shouldered Kitei"Carved out of strength, the furious kite", single work poetry (p. 23)
- Egretsi"Once as I travelled through a quiet evening,", single work poetry (p. 24)
- Dove-Lovei"The dove purrs - over and over the dove", single work poetry (p. 26)
- Migrant Swifti"Beneath him slid the furrows of the sea;", single work poetry (p. 28)
- Apostle-Birdsi"Strangers are easily put out of countenance,", single work poetry (p. 31)
- Parrotsi"Loquats are cold as winter suns.", single work poetry (p. 32)
- Magpiesi"Along the road the magpies walk", single work poetry children's (p. 34)
- Wounded Night-Birdi"Walking one lukewarm, lamp-black night I heard", single work poetry (p. 37)
- The Wagtaili"So elegant he is and neat", single work poetry (p. 39)
- Pelicansi"Funnel-web spider, snake and octopus,", single work poetry (p. 41)
- Silver Ternsi"It was a morning blue as ocean's mirror,", single work poetry (p. 42)
- Brown Birdi"Brown bird with the silver eyes,", single work poetry (p. 44)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also braille.
Works about this Work
-
Wright Vociferous – ‘Birds’ and ‘Skins’ – Physiognomy, Identity and the Wild Spoken Word
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Cordite Poetry Review , 1 February no. 84 2018;'On 23 November, 2017 at the NSW Writers’ Centre in the Sydney suburb of Rozelle, poets Amanda Stewart, Nick Keys, Peter Minter, Michael Farrell and myself presented ‘The Centre For Deep Reading’s Talking Writing: Wrighting’ in the Judith Wright Room. Minter acknowledged this Wangal and Gadigal country. We each spoke for 15 minutes on Wright, and each did a mini-read of our own poems that reacted to or expanded on Wright’s work.' (Introduction)
-
Hugging the Shore : The Green Mountains of South-East Queensland
2007
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Littoral Zone : Australian Contexts and Their Writers 2007; (p. 176-197) Extrapolating from their observations of the relationship between the Blue Mountains and the New South Wales coastline, David Foster and Martin Thomas have concluded that the sea and the mountains represent a 'fundamental divide in the mental geography of Australia'. The south-east Queensland coast presents a different experience of the relationship between sea and mountains. Here, from northern New South Wales to Noosa, north of Brisbane, the mountains, clearly visible from ocean, bay, and shore, are an intrinsic part of the coastal experience. This chapter looks at some writing about two of the coastal mountains with substantial national park areas: Lamington and Tamborine. It considers how writing about these areas reflects on the process of engagement with the natural world, the process by which settlers become dwellers, and the particular understanding of our place in the world that can evolve out of the experience of 'the frontiers between the wild and the cultivated'. (from The Littoral Zone) -
'The Coloured Stones / Of Memory'
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 178 2005; (p. 84-87)
— Review of The Turning Wave : Poems and Songs of Irish Australia 2001 anthology poetry ; Cafe Boogie 2004 selected work poetry ; Wolf Notes 2003 selected work poetry ; Drums and Bonnets 2003 selected work poetry ; Other Gravities 2003 selected work poetry ; The Calabar Transcript : Poems 2003 selected work poetry ; Too Much Happens 2003 selected work poetry ; Birds : Poems 1962 selected work poetry -
Untitled
2004
single work
review
— Appears in: Art Monthly Australia , November no. 175 2004; (p. 27-28)
— Review of Birds : Poems 1962 selected work poetry -
Birds
2004
single work
criticism
— Appears in: National Library of Australia News , March vol. 14 no. 6 2004; (p. 7-10) McKinney explains the circumstances in which the poems in the collection Birds were written. She says that for Wright it was a period of 'precious and dearly-won time of warmth and bounty to counterbalance at last what felt, in contrast, like the chilly dearth and difficulty of her earlier years. And the subtropical bounty of Tamborine's lush natural world embodied her experience ... She wrote poems of the rainforest, of its plants and flowers - and of its birds.'
-
Untitled
2004
single work
review
— Appears in: Art Monthly Australia , November no. 175 2004; (p. 27-28)
— Review of Birds : Poems 1962 selected work poetry -
'The Coloured Stones / Of Memory'
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 178 2005; (p. 84-87)
— Review of The Turning Wave : Poems and Songs of Irish Australia 2001 anthology poetry ; Cafe Boogie 2004 selected work poetry ; Wolf Notes 2003 selected work poetry ; Drums and Bonnets 2003 selected work poetry ; Other Gravities 2003 selected work poetry ; The Calabar Transcript : Poems 2003 selected work poetry ; Too Much Happens 2003 selected work poetry ; Birds : Poems 1962 selected work poetry -
Better Late ...
1964
single work
review
— Appears in: Prospect , vol. 7 no. 1 1964; (p. 29-30)
— Review of Southmost Twelve 1962 selected work poetry ; The Elements of Poetry 1963 selected work criticism ; Mary Gilmore 1963 selected work poetry ; Rutherford and Other Poems 1962 selected work poetry ; Birds : Poems 1962 selected work poetry ; Masque for a Modern Minstrel : A Reading of Poems 1962 selected work poetry ; Australian Poets 1963 series - publisher -
Poetry of Distinction
1963
single work
review
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 23 no. 2 1963; (p. 137-141)
— Review of Southmost Twelve 1962 selected work poetry ; Birds : Poems 1962 selected work poetry ; Australian Poetry 1962 1962 anthology poetry ; Rutherford and Other Poems 1962 selected work poetry -
Poets Taken by Surprise
1963
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 19 January vol. 85 no. 4327 1963; (p. 36-37)
— Review of Southmost Twelve 1962 selected work poetry ; Birds : Poems 1962 selected work poetry ; Australian Poetry 1962 1962 anthology poetry ; Rutherford and Other Poems 1962 selected work poetry -
Lines from the Bush
2004
single work
biography
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 10 January 2004; (p. 23, 25) 'Poet Judith Wright always had a special love of birds, even when dreaming up verse about them while doing the dishes. Here, her daughter [Meredith McKinney] recalls a childhood filled with morning birdsong and the even lullaby of the tapping typewriter.' -- Editor's introduction. -
Birds
2004
single work
criticism
— Appears in: National Library of Australia News , March vol. 14 no. 6 2004; (p. 7-10) McKinney explains the circumstances in which the poems in the collection Birds were written. She says that for Wright it was a period of 'precious and dearly-won time of warmth and bounty to counterbalance at last what felt, in contrast, like the chilly dearth and difficulty of her earlier years. And the subtropical bounty of Tamborine's lush natural world embodied her experience ... She wrote poems of the rainforest, of its plants and flowers - and of its birds.' -
Hugging the Shore : The Green Mountains of South-East Queensland
2007
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Littoral Zone : Australian Contexts and Their Writers 2007; (p. 176-197) Extrapolating from their observations of the relationship between the Blue Mountains and the New South Wales coastline, David Foster and Martin Thomas have concluded that the sea and the mountains represent a 'fundamental divide in the mental geography of Australia'. The south-east Queensland coast presents a different experience of the relationship between sea and mountains. Here, from northern New South Wales to Noosa, north of Brisbane, the mountains, clearly visible from ocean, bay, and shore, are an intrinsic part of the coastal experience. This chapter looks at some writing about two of the coastal mountains with substantial national park areas: Lamington and Tamborine. It considers how writing about these areas reflects on the process of engagement with the natural world, the process by which settlers become dwellers, and the particular understanding of our place in the world that can evolve out of the experience of 'the frontiers between the wild and the cultivated'. (from The Littoral Zone) -
The Later Poetry of Judith Wright
1965
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 25 no. 3 1965; (p. 163-171) Critical Essays on Judith Wright 1968; (p. 111-118) -
Wright Vociferous – ‘Birds’ and ‘Skins’ – Physiognomy, Identity and the Wild Spoken Word
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Cordite Poetry Review , 1 February no. 84 2018;'On 23 November, 2017 at the NSW Writers’ Centre in the Sydney suburb of Rozelle, poets Amanda Stewart, Nick Keys, Peter Minter, Michael Farrell and myself presented ‘The Centre For Deep Reading’s Talking Writing: Wrighting’ in the Judith Wright Room. Minter acknowledged this Wangal and Gadigal country. We each spoke for 15 minutes on Wright, and each did a mini-read of our own poems that reacted to or expanded on Wright’s work.' (Introduction)
Last amended 15 Jun 2022 14:55:01
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