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' In The Times Literary Supplement, David Wheatley calls Robert Adamson "one of the finest Australian poets at work today." NET NEEDLE brings together the presiding influences of his life, early and late. He casts an affectionate eye on the Hawkesbury fishermen who "stitched their lives into my days," childhood escapades, lost literary comrades, the light and tides of the river, and the ambiance of his youth. Throughout, he is characteristically attuned to the natural world, sketching encounters both intimate and strange. These are poems of clear-eyed vision and mastery, borne of long experience, alert and at ease. As Michael Palmer observes, "Eye and ear, none better." ' (Publication summary)
Notes
-
Dedication: for Juno - heart's needle, soul's compass
-
Epigraph:
All the stream that's roaring by
Came out of a needle's eye;
Things unborn, things that are gone,
From needle's eye still goad it on. - WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
Contents
- Listening to Cuckoosi"Two unchanging notes; to us - words", single work poetry
- Summeri"A pallid cuckoo calls in a loop", single work poetry
- Garden Poemi"Sunlight scatters wild bees across a blanket of flowering lavender. The garden grows, visibly, in one morning— native grasses push up,", single work poetry
- Dorothy Wordsworthi"Wisps of smoke, lamplight on manuscripts", single work poetry
- Via Negativa : The Divine Dark, sequence poetry
- Colonial Whaleri"As a boy, he watched a spear", single work poetry
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Net Makers
The Net-Makersi"They stitched themselves into the days of my childhood,",
single work
poetry
Note: With title: Net Makers
- Heaving the Ropei"A deck hand makes a line then heaves his rope", single work poetry
- Chowder Bayi"The nights were illegible at Chowder Bay", single work poetry
- The Green Flashi"One hot afternoon, on the first long walk", single work poetry
- The Wintergarden, single work poetry
- The River Cavesi"We were keen young cubs, members", single work poetry
- The Sydney Stadiumi"Sydney's Stadium's stage revolved slowly, the fighters and", single work poetry
-
Shark-Net Seahorses of Balmoral: A Harbour Memoir,
selected work
poetry
A collection of 15 poems by Robert Adamson and 21 lino prints by Peter Kingston.
- The Phantomi"My father was a fisherman who made", single work poetry
- MV Anytimei"The deep greens of Middle Harbour", single work poetry
- Sugarloaf Bay : Middle Harbouri"I fished here for leatherjackets,", single work poetry
- The Long Bay Debating Societyi"I spent my twenty-first in Long Bay Penitentiary", single work poetry
- The Coriander Fields of Long Bay Penitentiaryi"Serving two years hard -", single work poetry
- Internal Weather : In Memory of Randolph Stowi"In the long night, the moon's bent light.", single work poetry
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Verse : Net Needle
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: World Literature Today , January - February vol. 91 no. 1 2017; (p. 83) 'In Net Needle, poet Robert Adamson spans the range of contemporary English prosody with poems that tenderly attest to an endangered environment.' -
Rose Lucas Reviews Net Needle by Robert Adamson
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Plumwood Mountain [Online] , February 2016;
— Review of Net Needle 2015 selected work poetry -
Poethical Objectivist
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 377 2015; (p. 42)
— Review of Net Needle 2015 selected work poetry -
Catcher and Sifter
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , November 2015;
— Review of Net Needle 2015 selected work poetry -
Fiona Scotney Reviews Net Needle by Robert Adamson
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , October no. 18 2015;
— Review of Net Needle 2015 selected work poetry
-
Robert Adamson, Net Needle
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , May vol. 7 no. 2 2015;
— Review of Net Needle 2015 selected work poetry -
It’s the Look at Life That Really Counts
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 16-17 May 2015; (p. 28) The Saturday Age , 16-17 May 2015; (p. 24)
— Review of Net Needle 2015 selected work poetry -
Fishing for the Truth
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30-31 May 2015; (p. 16-17)
— Review of Net Needle 2015 selected work poetry 'Robert Adamson’s poetry represents a vivid form of social history, writes Gregory Day.' -
Review Short: Robert Adamson’s Net Needle
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Cordite Poetry Review , 1 August no. 51.0 2015;
— Review of Net Needle 2015 selected work poetry -
Fiona Scotney Reviews Net Needle by Robert Adamson
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , October no. 18 2015;
— Review of Net Needle 2015 selected work poetry -
Undercover : Vanishing Poetry Professors Barry Spurr and Robert Adamson
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15 November 2014; The Age , 15 November 2014; The Canberra Times , 15 November 2014; -
Verse : Net Needle
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: World Literature Today , January - February vol. 91 no. 1 2017; (p. 83) 'In Net Needle, poet Robert Adamson spans the range of contemporary English prosody with poems that tenderly attest to an endangered environment.'
Awards
- 2016 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Poetry
- 2015 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards — Judith Wright Calanthe Award