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'Eleven fictive poets from Latin America, France and Québec. Their poems, interviews, biographies and letters weave images of diverse lives and poetics. In the tradition of Fernando Pessoa, Boyle presents an array of at times humorous, at times tormented heteronymous poets. In their varied voices and styles, writing as they do across the span of the 20th Century and into the 21st , these haunted and haunting figures offer one of poetry’s oldest gifts – to sing beauty in the face of death. In all this Boyle, their fictive translator, is deeply enmeshed.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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A Kaleidoscope of Experience
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , June 2017; 'The first poem by Peter Boyle I ever read happens to be a useful precursor to the work he does in Ghostspeaking. The poem is ‘Nine ways of writing an American Poem’, which appeared in the book What the Painter Saw in our Faces (2001). In this poem, Boyle mimics different trends in American poetics, ranging from radical plainness (as in, ‘If you put/ your hand/ in fire/ it hurts’) to experimental poetics (‘Open paratwang/ of helio-/ trope in/ door-/ way/ en-/TRANCE). The nine variations of this poem inhabit a wide array of voices and modes, and show a metamorphic voice at work. Within these variations, Boyle gives a broad performance of different poetic gestures and postures. Since reading that poem, I have become acquainted with Boyle himself, while students studying at the same institution.' (Introduction) -
Poets Live and Fictive : Five Collections
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Autumn vol. 76 no. 1 2017; (p. 182-188)'Chorale at the Crossing ‘gathers together the work Porter completed after the publication of his final collection, Better than God’. It is an uneven book, with some very good poems, and some, such as ‘A Chip off the Old Blog’, which are little more than creative doodles: one suspects a few of its inclusions are for the sake of having enough poems for a book. That said, there are a dozen or so fully realised pieces, and a few that would make it into the most compact of Porter selecteds. Sean O’Brien has contributed a brief but useful introduction, and Christine Porter has written a thoughtful little afterword on one poem, ‘The Hermit Crab’—a genre we could use a lot more of, judging by the puzzlement with which unpractised but otherwise intelligent readers so often meet contemporary poetry.' (Introduction)
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Entering Other Countries
2017
single work
essay
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January-February no. 388 2017; (p. 30 - 32)'If Peter Boyle’s new and selected, Towns in the Great Desert (which I reviewed in ABR, March 2014), was a tour de force of the imagination, and a book of stunningly strange and brilliant poetry, this next book, Ghostspeaking, surpasses it in ambition and virtuosity. Across nearly 400 pages, Boyle introduces us to eleven Spanish-speaking poets from Argentina, France, Spain, Cuba, Canada, and Puerto Rico, with small biographical portraits, reports of interviews, and translations of selections of their poems and memoirs. Often the work he translates is unpublished or only available in rare editions.'
(Introduction)
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Prithvi Varatharajan Reviews Peter Boyle
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Cordite Poetry Review , November no. 56.0 2016;
— Review of Ghostspeaking 2016 selected work poetry -
Imagined Worlds : Luke Fischer Launches ‘Ghostspeaking’ by Peter Boyle
2016
single work
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , October – December no. 20 2016;
— Review of Ghostspeaking 2016 selected work poetry
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Peter Boyle : Ghostspeaking
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Poetry Review , vol. 11 no. 2016;
— Review of Ghostspeaking 2016 selected work poetry -
Imagined Worlds : Luke Fischer Launches ‘Ghostspeaking’ by Peter Boyle
2016
single work
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , October – December no. 20 2016;
— Review of Ghostspeaking 2016 selected work poetry -
Prithvi Varatharajan Reviews Peter Boyle
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Cordite Poetry Review , November no. 56.0 2016;
— Review of Ghostspeaking 2016 selected work poetry -
Entering Other Countries
2017
single work
essay
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January-February no. 388 2017; (p. 30 - 32)'If Peter Boyle’s new and selected, Towns in the Great Desert (which I reviewed in ABR, March 2014), was a tour de force of the imagination, and a book of stunningly strange and brilliant poetry, this next book, Ghostspeaking, surpasses it in ambition and virtuosity. Across nearly 400 pages, Boyle introduces us to eleven Spanish-speaking poets from Argentina, France, Spain, Cuba, Canada, and Puerto Rico, with small biographical portraits, reports of interviews, and translations of selections of their poems and memoirs. Often the work he translates is unpublished or only available in rare editions.'
(Introduction)
-
Poets Live and Fictive : Five Collections
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Autumn vol. 76 no. 1 2017; (p. 182-188)'Chorale at the Crossing ‘gathers together the work Porter completed after the publication of his final collection, Better than God’. It is an uneven book, with some very good poems, and some, such as ‘A Chip off the Old Blog’, which are little more than creative doodles: one suspects a few of its inclusions are for the sake of having enough poems for a book. That said, there are a dozen or so fully realised pieces, and a few that would make it into the most compact of Porter selecteds. Sean O’Brien has contributed a brief but useful introduction, and Christine Porter has written a thoughtful little afterword on one poem, ‘The Hermit Crab’—a genre we could use a lot more of, judging by the puzzlement with which unpractised but otherwise intelligent readers so often meet contemporary poetry.' (Introduction)
-
A Kaleidoscope of Experience
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , June 2017; 'The first poem by Peter Boyle I ever read happens to be a useful precursor to the work he does in Ghostspeaking. The poem is ‘Nine ways of writing an American Poem’, which appeared in the book What the Painter Saw in our Faces (2001). In this poem, Boyle mimics different trends in American poetics, ranging from radical plainness (as in, ‘If you put/ your hand/ in fire/ it hurts’) to experimental poetics (‘Open paratwang/ of helio-/ trope in/ door-/ way/ en-/TRANCE). The nine variations of this poem inhabit a wide array of voices and modes, and show a metamorphic voice at work. Within these variations, Boyle gives a broad performance of different poetic gestures and postures. Since reading that poem, I have become acquainted with Boyle himself, while students studying at the same institution.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2018 shortlisted Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature — John Bray Poetry Award
- 2017 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
- 2017 shortlisted ASAL Awards — ALS Gold Medal