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Notes
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Epigraph: ...And what you thought you came for / Is only a shell, a husk of meaning / From which purpose breaks only when it is fuffilled / If at all. Either you had no purpose / Or the purpose is beyond the end you figured / And is altered in fulfilment... / T. S. Eliot Little Gidding
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Editor's note: In 1983 Robyn Rowland arrives in Ireland to find the place her family had left three generations before. By accident she visits an Irish abbey near that place. A meeting there becomes an obsessive, passionate but circumscribed love (A). Caught into it is the end of another, older love in Australia (T). The fluid edge of sanity is tested. In this new book-length sequence, poems trace the loss, the pain and the beauty of that time. (Source: 1990 edition)
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A book-length sequence of poems which is comprised of five numbered parts: Part One (pp. 2-8), Part Two (pp. 10-18), Part Three (pp. 20-29), Part Four (pp. 32-58), Part Five (pp. 60-71).
Contents
* Contents derived from the
Port Melbourne,
South Melbourne - Port Melbourne area,
Melbourne - Inner South,
Melbourne,
Victoria,:Heinemann Australia
, 1990 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
- Searchingi"Dislocated to find location I come in search of family,", single work poetry (p. 2-3)
- The Beginningi"There I entered Ireland-", single work poetry (p. 4-8)
- Jugglingi"I am learning to live", single work poetry (p. 10-11)
- End In Viewi"Yours is the shock", single work poetry (p. 12-13)
- The Riski"You visit seeking councel, bringing tulips", single work poetry (p. 14-15)
- Re-Leavingi"Dry-eyed and terrified", single work poetry (p. 16-17)
- Airbornei"I read Lowell's tumult of poems on age.", single work poetry (p. 18)
- Waveringi"We weary ourselves with", single work poetry (p. 20-21)
- Wastingi"Your body carries", single work poetry (p. 22-23)
- Uphill, Still Climbingi"Into this Midas season", single work poetry (p. 24-26)
- Toward Clarityi"You know what it's like:", single work poetry (p. 27-28)
- Perverse Serenityi"This cringing", single work poetry (p. 29)
- Finalei"You think I forgot", single work poetry (p. 32-33)
- When Love Goesi"In pain", single work poetry (p. 34-35)
- Losing Youi"One hungry step took me from you", single work poetry (p. 36-37)
- Changingi"I stood uncertain among threads twisted at my feet", single work poetry (p. 38-39)
- After Carringbush Ceilii"This dark is sensuous", single work poetry (p. 40-42)
- Surviving Singlei"I lie in sluggishly, relishing noise and smell.", single work poetry (p. 43-44)
- Offerings (for A)i"These rags of language", single work poetry (p. 45-46)
- Reassessingi"Living alone now", single work poetry (p. 47-48)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Two from Spinifex
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 8 no. 1 1994; (p. 69-70)
— Review of Perverse Serenity 1990 selected work poetry ; Sybil : The Glide of Her Tongue 1992 selected work poetry -
A Wealth of Poetic Devices Do Not, Alas, a Poem Make
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 September 1993; (p. C8)
— Review of Sirocco Days 1993 selected work poetry ; The Naming of the Harbour and the Trees 1992 selected work poetry ; Sleeve Notes 1992 selected work poetry ; The Apple and the Serpent 1992 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity 1990 selected work poetry -
Vast with Remembering
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Women's Book Review , September vol. 2 no. 3 1990; (p. 20-21)
— Review of Perverse Serenity 1990 selected work poetry -
The Fit between Artifice and Emotion
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 120 1990; (p. 31)
— Review of Perverse Serenity 1990 selected work poetry -
Interaction of Forms a Cornucopia of Charms
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8-9 September 1990; (p. rev 6)
— Review of Fingerprints on Light 1990 selected work poetry ; Australian Things 1990 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity 1990 selected work poetry
-
Overwhelming Memories of Friendly Street
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10 March 1990; (p. 78)
— Review of Animal Warmth 1990 selected work poetry ; Singing the Snake : Poems from the Western Desert 1979-1988 1990 selected work poetry ; After the War: Poems 1990 selected work poetry ; Fingerprints on Light 1990 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity 1990 selected work poetry ; Australian Things 1990 selected work poetry ; Seventy Seven 1990 selected work poetry ; Edison Doesn't Invent the Car 1990 selected work poetry ; The Inner Courtyard : A South Australian Anthology of Love Poetry 1990 anthology poetry ; Friendly Street Poetry Reader : Fourteen 1990 anthology poetry -
Four Reasons to Celebrate
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Herald , 18 March 1990; (p. 39)
— Review of Singing the Snake : Poems from the Western Desert 1979-1988 1990 selected work poetry ; Australian Things 1990 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity 1990 selected work poetry -
Interaction of Forms a Cornucopia of Charms
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8-9 September 1990; (p. rev 6)
— Review of Fingerprints on Light 1990 selected work poetry ; Australian Things 1990 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity 1990 selected work poetry -
A Wealth of Poetic Devices Do Not, Alas, a Poem Make
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 September 1993; (p. C8)
— Review of Sirocco Days 1993 selected work poetry ; The Naming of the Harbour and the Trees 1992 selected work poetry ; Sleeve Notes 1992 selected work poetry ; The Apple and the Serpent 1992 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity 1990 selected work poetry -
The Fit between Artifice and Emotion
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 120 1990; (p. 31)
— Review of Perverse Serenity 1990 selected work poetry
Last amended 6 Apr 2016 07:58:19
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