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Notes
-
Dedication: for Rhonda, Kieren and Cameron
Contents
* Contents derived from the
London,
c
England,c
c
United Kingdom (UK),c
Western Europe,
Europe,:Salt Publishing
, 2010 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.- Near Gwabegari"Past town children who", single work poetry (p. 1-2)
- Visiting Friends at Henleyi"We cross the street, and along the path", single work poetry (p. 3-4)
- The Calli"A stilled room to which I am called", single work poetry (p. 5)
- Incomplete and Nagged Ati"The worst thing is being alone.", single work poetry (p. 6)
- The Kids Push Fingers...i"The kids push fingers toward a window", single work poetry (p. 7-8)
- The Basis of All Knowledgei"He is a child", single work poetry (p. 9)
- Samuel Johnson in Marrickvillei"Sometimes you walk along,", single work poetry (p. 10-15)
- Abracadabrai"Taking off is like itself:", single work poetry (p. 16-18)
- No-One Ever Found Youi"No-one ever found you self-seeking or dishonest.", single work poetry (p. 19)
- Threadsi"So the trip is over. All the cases empty,", single work poetry (p. 20)
- Night Flighti"Entering this symmetrical hulk of metal which will fling us", single work poetry (p. 21)
- The Mitchell Freewayi"Straight and smooth and stretched", single work poetry (p. 22)
- At Greenwood, a Meditationi"In a humdrum household", single work poetry (p. 23)
- Letter to Rosemaryi"Rosemary, because we are not likely", single work poetry (p. 24-25)
- Flying West, Driving Westwardi"The wheels rock on the runway, skitter", single work poetry (p. 26-28)
- Thaipusami"It teems rain, tropical rain, rain", single work poetry (p. 29)
- Tappingi"My love, that odd window knocking", single work poetry (p. 30-31)
- Light the First Light of Eveningi"In solitude", single work poetry (p. 32)
- One Clear Calli"Holidays, the bush, dusty Coonabarabran", single work poetry (p. 33)
- The Livin Is Easyi"When Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin died", single work poetry (p. 34)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Provisional Meanings : Belonging and Not-Belonging in the Poetry of Dennis Haskell
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Asiatic , December vol. 13 no. 2 2019; (p. 58-69)'Dennis Haskell’s poetry persistently explores images of home and departure. As it does, it questions what we may know and depend on, suggesting that many of our understandings are provisional. Haskell’s poetry also contrasts what is imagined and desired with what is knowable – giving prominence to quotidian knowledge and observable reality – and restlessly explores the relationship of religious belief to lived experience. In this light, the elegiac strand in his work becomes a way of probing the gap between death and the limitations of language, highlighting the sometimes problematic relationship between thought and expression. Yet, poetry provides a means of access to otherwise unapproachable thoughts and feelings and connects the poet (and reader) to an articulate human community. It enables the delineation of a simultaneously observant, detached and engaged subjectivity that consistently seeks to find connections – whether at home, while travelling or in international settings. This poetry joins the familiar and unfamiliar in works that question how people understand one another and their unique circumstances, and how the ineffable, while it may be evoked in words, nevertheless retains its deep mysteries. Haskell is interested in the ways in which we make and disturb meaning, and in questioning how belief in God or an afterlife may be understood despite scepticism and doubt.' (Publication abstract)
-
The Sliding Scale of Self-Repair in Dennis Haskell’s Acts of Defiance
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Asiatic , December vol. 13 no. 2 2019; (p. 36-57) 'The contemporary lyric’s rich possibilities for resituating history and life stories still remain largely unexplored. Lyric poetry and history have always had, understandably, an uneasy relationship; the lyric is traditionally linked to the symbolic, not to fact or even necessarily, as we know from medieval or earlier poems, to a speaker that we can name or authorise. Yet, the instrument and agency of lyric evolve too, like science and technology, making room for strengths previously unexploited, rooted and waiting. Dennis Haskell’s powerful body of work, balancing on a delicate and self-referential focus on human language itself, offers us a glimpse into the future. This article offers a critical study of 21st ecosystems of human language, as acts of self-repair, a perspective permeating Dennis Haskell’s pioneering and poetic cycle of work, resonant with medical discoveries in our era. As we look ahead through the lens of Haskell’s “geographies of time,” we also explore lyric legacies of the elegiac, pointing us to update continuously our apprehension of the human body of language among the larger balances, of earth and space, and, then again, with one another, up close.' (Publication abstract) -
“A Need for Voices” : The Poetry of Dennis Haskell
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Asiatic , December vol. 13 no. 2 2019; (p. 6-18) 'This article presents a critical reading of the poetry of Dennis Haskell. Inspired by the experience of hearing the poet read, it uses the concept of poetic voice as an entry point for critical analysis. Haskell has described his poetic aim as being to “write a poetry that incorporates ideas but never ostentatiously … with as quiet as possible verbal skill, and in a way that evokes the deepest emotions” (Landbridge) . The paper identifies key aspects of voice in the poetry, drawing on arguments by Robert Pinsky and Al Alvarez that voice implies a reaching out to an auditor or reader, and thus has social and cultural dimensions. Attending to both technique and meaning, it first analyses two short lyric poems by Haskell, “One Clear Call” and “The Call,” which explore the power of voice in poetic and pre-linguistic settings respectively. Poetic voice becomes a vehicle of social critique in “Australian Language’s Tribute to the Times,” a bemused satire on the clichéd language of modern politics and economics. In the next section of the paper the focus shifts to his recurrent creative interest in poems of international travel and in particular international flight. The experience of flying is the subject of lucid, practical philosophical reflections in “GA873: The Meaning of Meaning” and “Reality’s Conquests,” while in “As You Are, As We Are” and “Our Century,” Haskell presents vivid intercultural encounters in a voice that is candid, observant and responsive to others.' (Publication abstract) -
Sometimes Difficult, Always Diverse : Aspects of Contemporary Australian Poetry 2010-11
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 56 no. 1 2011; (p. 50-66)
— Review of Ashes in the Air 2011 selected work poetry ; Pebbles on the Roof 2009 selected work poetry ; Carnival Edge : New and Selected Poems 2010 selected work poetry ; Glass Clouds 2010 selected work poetry ; I Painted Unafraid 2010 selected work poetry ; Burning Bright 2010 selected work poetry ; An Absence of Saints 2010 selected work poetry ; Chemistry 2011 selected work poetry ; Lines for Birds : Poems and Paintings 2011 selected work poetry ; Selected Poems of Dorothy Hewett 2010 selected work poetry ; Acts of Defiance : New and Selected Poems 2010 selected work poetry ; News of the Insect World : And Other Poems 2009 selected work poetry ; Graphic : Two Sequences 2010 selected work poetry ; The Drunken Elk 2010 selected work poetry ; Possession : Poems about the Voyage of Lt James Cook in The Endeavour 1768-1771 2010 selected work poetry ; The West : Australian Poems 1989-2009 2010 selected work poetry ; La, La, La 2009 selected work poetry ; Porch Music 2010 selected work poetry ; Postcards from the Centre 2010 selected work poetry ; Swallow 2010 selected work poetry ; Little River 2010 selected work poetry ; Where N Equals a Determinacy of Poetry 2010 selected work poetry ; Heartscapes 2010 selected work poetry ; Green Hair 2010 selected work poetry ; Starlight : 150 Poems 2010 selected work poetry ; The Gossip and the Wine 2011 selected work poetry ; The Geometry of Flight 2010 selected work poetry ; Keepers 2010 selected work poetry ; Seasons of Doubt and Burning : New and Selected Poems 2010 selected work poetry ; Time Will Tell 2010 selected work poetry ; New Selected Poems : A Collection of Flowers : 1967-2009 2010 selected work poetry ; Collected Poems : Francis Webb 2011 collected work poetry -
Writing the Ordinary : Poets in Conversation
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 56 no. 1 2011; (p. 35-42)
-
Elegy for Life's Fragility
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 15 January 2011; (p. 26)
— Review of Acts of Defiance : New and Selected Poems 2010 selected work poetry -
Worried Wrestlings
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 330 2011; (p. 59)
— Review of Acts of Defiance : New and Selected Poems 2010 selected work poetry -
Sometimes Difficult, Always Diverse : Aspects of Contemporary Australian Poetry 2010-11
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 56 no. 1 2011; (p. 50-66)
— Review of Ashes in the Air 2011 selected work poetry ; Pebbles on the Roof 2009 selected work poetry ; Carnival Edge : New and Selected Poems 2010 selected work poetry ; Glass Clouds 2010 selected work poetry ; I Painted Unafraid 2010 selected work poetry ; Burning Bright 2010 selected work poetry ; An Absence of Saints 2010 selected work poetry ; Chemistry 2011 selected work poetry ; Lines for Birds : Poems and Paintings 2011 selected work poetry ; Selected Poems of Dorothy Hewett 2010 selected work poetry ; Acts of Defiance : New and Selected Poems 2010 selected work poetry ; News of the Insect World : And Other Poems 2009 selected work poetry ; Graphic : Two Sequences 2010 selected work poetry ; The Drunken Elk 2010 selected work poetry ; Possession : Poems about the Voyage of Lt James Cook in The Endeavour 1768-1771 2010 selected work poetry ; The West : Australian Poems 1989-2009 2010 selected work poetry ; La, La, La 2009 selected work poetry ; Porch Music 2010 selected work poetry ; Postcards from the Centre 2010 selected work poetry ; Swallow 2010 selected work poetry ; Little River 2010 selected work poetry ; Where N Equals a Determinacy of Poetry 2010 selected work poetry ; Heartscapes 2010 selected work poetry ; Green Hair 2010 selected work poetry ; Starlight : 150 Poems 2010 selected work poetry ; The Gossip and the Wine 2011 selected work poetry ; The Geometry of Flight 2010 selected work poetry ; Keepers 2010 selected work poetry ; Seasons of Doubt and Burning : New and Selected Poems 2010 selected work poetry ; Time Will Tell 2010 selected work poetry ; New Selected Poems : A Collection of Flowers : 1967-2009 2010 selected work poetry ; Collected Poems : Francis Webb 2011 collected work poetry -
Writing the Ordinary : Poets in Conversation
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 56 no. 1 2011; (p. 35-42) -
“A Need for Voices” : The Poetry of Dennis Haskell
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Asiatic , December vol. 13 no. 2 2019; (p. 6-18) 'This article presents a critical reading of the poetry of Dennis Haskell. Inspired by the experience of hearing the poet read, it uses the concept of poetic voice as an entry point for critical analysis. Haskell has described his poetic aim as being to “write a poetry that incorporates ideas but never ostentatiously … with as quiet as possible verbal skill, and in a way that evokes the deepest emotions” (Landbridge) . The paper identifies key aspects of voice in the poetry, drawing on arguments by Robert Pinsky and Al Alvarez that voice implies a reaching out to an auditor or reader, and thus has social and cultural dimensions. Attending to both technique and meaning, it first analyses two short lyric poems by Haskell, “One Clear Call” and “The Call,” which explore the power of voice in poetic and pre-linguistic settings respectively. Poetic voice becomes a vehicle of social critique in “Australian Language’s Tribute to the Times,” a bemused satire on the clichéd language of modern politics and economics. In the next section of the paper the focus shifts to his recurrent creative interest in poems of international travel and in particular international flight. The experience of flying is the subject of lucid, practical philosophical reflections in “GA873: The Meaning of Meaning” and “Reality’s Conquests,” while in “As You Are, As We Are” and “Our Century,” Haskell presents vivid intercultural encounters in a voice that is candid, observant and responsive to others.' (Publication abstract) -
The Sliding Scale of Self-Repair in Dennis Haskell’s Acts of Defiance
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Asiatic , December vol. 13 no. 2 2019; (p. 36-57) 'The contemporary lyric’s rich possibilities for resituating history and life stories still remain largely unexplored. Lyric poetry and history have always had, understandably, an uneasy relationship; the lyric is traditionally linked to the symbolic, not to fact or even necessarily, as we know from medieval or earlier poems, to a speaker that we can name or authorise. Yet, the instrument and agency of lyric evolve too, like science and technology, making room for strengths previously unexploited, rooted and waiting. Dennis Haskell’s powerful body of work, balancing on a delicate and self-referential focus on human language itself, offers us a glimpse into the future. This article offers a critical study of 21st ecosystems of human language, as acts of self-repair, a perspective permeating Dennis Haskell’s pioneering and poetic cycle of work, resonant with medical discoveries in our era. As we look ahead through the lens of Haskell’s “geographies of time,” we also explore lyric legacies of the elegiac, pointing us to update continuously our apprehension of the human body of language among the larger balances, of earth and space, and, then again, with one another, up close.' (Publication abstract) -
Provisional Meanings : Belonging and Not-Belonging in the Poetry of Dennis Haskell
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Asiatic , December vol. 13 no. 2 2019; (p. 58-69)'Dennis Haskell’s poetry persistently explores images of home and departure. As it does, it questions what we may know and depend on, suggesting that many of our understandings are provisional. Haskell’s poetry also contrasts what is imagined and desired with what is knowable – giving prominence to quotidian knowledge and observable reality – and restlessly explores the relationship of religious belief to lived experience. In this light, the elegiac strand in his work becomes a way of probing the gap between death and the limitations of language, highlighting the sometimes problematic relationship between thought and expression. Yet, poetry provides a means of access to otherwise unapproachable thoughts and feelings and connects the poet (and reader) to an articulate human community. It enables the delineation of a simultaneously observant, detached and engaged subjectivity that consistently seeks to find connections – whether at home, while travelling or in international settings. This poetry joins the familiar and unfamiliar in works that question how people understand one another and their unique circumstances, and how the ineffable, while it may be evoked in words, nevertheless retains its deep mysteries. Haskell is interested in the ways in which we make and disturb meaning, and in questioning how belief in God or an afterlife may be understood despite scepticism and doubt.' (Publication abstract)
Last amended 2 Mar 2011 11:32:51
Common subjects:
- Perception of others
- Air travel
- Introspection & introversion
- Death of a loved one
- Declaration of love
- Fathers & sons
- Enduring relationships
- Australian tourists overseas
- Memories
- Older people - Memories of youth
- Friends & friendship
- Time & change
- Language & communication
- Literature & writers
- Memories of childhood
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