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'...with scarcely a disruption to her rhythm, a gaunt Indian woman in purple sari voided the contents of her nostril onto her hand then cast the necklace of silvery substance aside. O, Boon was a proper enough schoolboy, instructed in the use of the British handkerchief, and yet the gaunt woman’s action lodged in my mind, an image repellent, beautiful, troubling.
'Claude Boon and Henry Luck, young poets in quest of their muses, cut a swathe through the cultural capitals and byways of Europe and Asia towards the end of the Cold War.
'The Poets’ Stairwell revitalises the picaresque novel. Vibrant, sensuous and layered, it has a tumble of characters and pranks.
'Anarchist puckish Beamish, the Isadora Duncan-like Eva, class warrior, Branca, a libidinous translator of poems with Jelena, her iconoclast daughter, Luc Courlai a jailed French philosopher, Titus the Yankee acrobat who cradles his gun like a baby, Mr Hark a saintly Irish funeral director, Willi a German truck driver versed in Thomas Aquinas and sensible Rhee, Henry’s girlfriend—amongst others.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Alan Gould, The Poets’ Stairwell
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , November vol. 8 no. 1 2015;
— Review of The Poet's Stairwell : A Picaresque Novel 2015 single work novel -
Adventures across a Literary Landscape
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 15-16 August 2015; (p. 20-21)
— Review of The Poet's Stairwell : A Picaresque Novel 2015 single work novel -
'The Poets' Stairwell' by Alan Gould
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June-July no. 372 2015; (p. 42)
— Review of The Poet's Stairwell : A Picaresque Novel 2015 single work novel -
On the Road with a Couple of Poets Full of Promise
Picaresque Pair Take on the World
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 11 April 2015; (p. 25) The Canberra Times , 11 April 2015; (p. 14) The Age , 11 April 2015; (p. 25)
— Review of The Poet's Stairwell : A Picaresque Novel 2015 single work novel
-
On the Road with a Couple of Poets Full of Promise
Picaresque Pair Take on the World
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 11 April 2015; (p. 25) The Canberra Times , 11 April 2015; (p. 14) The Age , 11 April 2015; (p. 25)
— Review of The Poet's Stairwell : A Picaresque Novel 2015 single work novel -
'The Poets' Stairwell' by Alan Gould
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June-July no. 372 2015; (p. 42)
— Review of The Poet's Stairwell : A Picaresque Novel 2015 single work novel -
Adventures across a Literary Landscape
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 15-16 August 2015; (p. 20-21)
— Review of The Poet's Stairwell : A Picaresque Novel 2015 single work novel -
Alan Gould, The Poets’ Stairwell
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , November vol. 8 no. 1 2015;
— Review of The Poet's Stairwell : A Picaresque Novel 2015 single work novel