The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Translations from the Natural World, Les Murray's new collection of poems, is, like all his work, rich in inventiveness, perception, and a rare delight in the mimetic powers of language. Its centerpiece is 'Presence', a sequence of forty 'translations from the natural world' about a variety of natural settings and their amazing denizens. Lyre birds, honeycombs, sea lions, cuttlefish, and possums all act as spurs to Murray's protean talents for description and imitation. As Lachlan MacKinnon wrote in The Times Literary Supplement, 'These poems, a grand tour of the given, are a great hymn to the particularities in which God's creative generosity is expressed, and they will be widely enjoyed and admired. Their technical and linguistic largesse confirms . . . that Les Murray is one of the very finest poets in whom the English language is now at work.' (Libraries Australia)
Contents
* Contents derived from the
Paddington,
Kings Cross area,
Inner Sydney,
Sydney,
New South Wales,:Isabella Press
, 1992 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
- Kimberley Briefi"With modern transport, everywhere you go", single work poetry (p. 3-7)
- Equinoctial Gales at Hawthornden Castle, Midlothiani"The tidal wind through Drummond's gorge", single work poetry (p. 8)
- Ultima Ratioi"Like vapour, the titan's scheme is dissipated,", Friedrich Georg Junger , Les Murray , single work poetry (p. 9)
- North Country Suitei"White, towering, polished as an urn,", single work poetry (p. 10-12)
-
Presence : Translations from the Natural World,
sequence
poetry
(p. 13-54)
Note: Here the sequence appears without "Bats' Ultrasound".
- Eagle Pairi"We shell down on the sleeping-branch. All night", single work poetry (p. 15)
- Layers of Pregnancyi"Under eagle worlds each fixed in place", single work poetry (p. 16)
- Strangler Figi"I glory centenially slow-", single work poetry (p. 17)
- Insect Mating Flighti"Iridescent in accord, clear wings", single work poetry (p. 18)
- Two Dogsi"Enchantment creek underbank pollen, are the stiff scents he makes,", single work poetry (p. 19)
- Cockspur Bushi"I am lived. I am died.", single work poetry (p. 20)
- Lyre Birdi"Liar made of leaf-litter, quivering ribby in shim,", single work poetry (p. 21)
- Shoali"Eye-and-eye eye an eye", single work poetry (p. 22)
- Prehistory of Airi"Fish, in their every body", single work poetry (p. 23)
- The Godsi"There is no Reynard fox. Just foxes.", single work poetry (p. 24)
- Cattle Ancestori"Darrambawli and all his wives, they came feeding from the south east", single work poetry (p. 25)
- Mollusci"By its nobship sailing upside down,", single work poetry (p. 26)
- Cattle Egreti"Our sleep-slow compeers, red and dun,", single work poetry (p. 27)
- The Snake's Heat Organi"Earth after sun is slow burn", single work poetry (p. 28)
- Great Bolei"Needing to soil point", single work poetry (p. 29)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Les Murray's Mannerist Grotesque
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Feeding the Ghost : 1 : Criticism on Contemporary Australian Poetry 2018; (p. 214-249)'As In Murray approaches his 80th birthday it is worth trying to assess the continuity of his achievement over a career that has now entered its 53rd year. In this chapter I approach this through examining, primarily in his later work, what I see as two central and linked preoccupations — a fascination with distortion, exaggeration and (re) framing, combined with a sense of an abject sexuality. I argue that 'late' Murray arrived relatively early, around the time of his return to Bunyah in the late 1980s, when he was in his late 40s, but also that this 'lateness' has clear and discernible roots in his early lyric poetry.' (Introduction)
-
The Australian Language Forest : Les Murray’s Translations from the Natural World
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Colloquy : Text Theory Critique , June no. 19 2010; -
Recasting Migration and Translation : Les Murray's Translations from the Natural World
2004
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Paesaggi australiani / Australian Landscapes 2004; (p. 137-148) -
Fullness of Being in Les Murray's `Presence: Translations from the Natural World'
1994
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 8 no. 2 1994; (p. 123-126,128,130) -
Translating the Word in the World of Poetry
1993
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 8 November 1993; (p. 4)
-
Trio Add Power to the Small Press
1992
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 12 December 1992; (p. 48)
— Review of The Mask and the Jagged Star 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 ; Translations from the Natural World 1992 selected work poetry -
Weaving Poems from the Natural World
1992
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 17 October 1992; (p. 9)
— Review of Translations from the Natural World 1992 selected work poetry ; Momentum 1992 selected work poetry ; Standing with Friends 1992 selected work poetry -
Starting Again
1992
single work
review
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , October no. 107 1992; (p. 32-33)
— Review of Translations from the Natural World 1992 selected work poetry ; Momentum 1992 selected work poetry ; Standing with Friends 1992 selected work poetry -
A Poetic Vision that Embraces the Many-in-One
1992
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 5 December 1992; (p. C8)
— Review of Translations from the Natural World 1992 selected work poetry -
Triple Launching of Mixed New Poetry Series
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30-31 January 1993; (p. rev 4)
— Review of Translations from the Natural World 1992 selected work poetry ; Momentum 1992 selected work poetry ; Standing with Friends 1992 selected work poetry -
Recasting Migration and Translation : Les Murray's Translations from the Natural World
2004
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Paesaggi australiani / Australian Landscapes 2004; (p. 137-148) -
Translating the Word in the World of Poetry
1993
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 8 November 1993; (p. 4) -
The Australian Language Forest : Les Murray’s Translations from the Natural World
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Colloquy : Text Theory Critique , June no. 19 2010; -
Murray's Natural Talent
1993
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 19 June 1993; (p. wkd 2) -
"Embracing the Vernacular": An Interview with Les A. Murray
Noel Peacock
(interviewer),
1992
single work
interview
biography
— Appears in: Australian & New Zealand Studies in Canada , June no. 7 1992; (p. 28-40)
Awards
- 1993 winner NBC Banjo Awards — NBC Turnbull Fox Phillips Poetry Prize
- 1993 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
- 1993 winner Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — Prize for Poetry
- 1993 winner New South Wales State Literary Awards — Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
Last amended 15 Dec 2014 17:05:58
Common subjects:
Export this record
