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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Surface to Air, evolving over a period of five years from 2006 to 2011, is an impressive follow-up to Savige's extremely successful debut Latecomers. It charts Jaya's various poetic influences during this period, which have included David Malouf, Peter Porter, Les Murray and Giuseppe Ungaretti.
'While many of the poems in latecomers, concerned the history and landscape of Bribie Island, where Savige grew up, this collection is about leaving the island and as such, it signals a departure from Latecomers.
'The title, Surface to Air, conveys the central themes of the collection, which include: the archaeological exposure of history, both personal and cultural, to the present; the struggle for literal inspiration, (a title of one of the poems) in contemporary life, with issues ranging from consumerism to personal grievance and loss; the ubiquity of violence, and the relationship between actual violence and the simulacrum of violence and war (connoted by the phrase "surface-to-air missile"); among others. It is also an invitation to be mindful of the surface effects of language.' (From the publisher's website.)
'While many of the poems in latecomers, concerned the history and landscape of Bribie Island, where Savige grew up, this collection is about leaving the island and as such, it signals a departure from Latecomers.
'The title, Surface to Air, conveys the central themes of the collection, which include: the archaeological exposure of history, both personal and cultural, to the present; the struggle for literal inspiration, (a title of one of the poems) in contemporary life, with issues ranging from consumerism to personal grievance and loss; the ubiquity of violence, and the relationship between actual violence and the simulacrum of violence and war (connoted by the phrase "surface-to-air missile"); among others. It is also an invitation to be mindful of the surface effects of language.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
-
Dedication: for Madeline.
-
Epigraph: Find me a thermal to speak and soar to you from. - W. S. Graham
Contents
* Contents derived from the
St Lucia,
Indooroopilly - St Lucia area,
Brisbane - North West,
Brisbane,
Queensland,:University of Queensland Press
, 2011 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
-
Sand Islandi"Gnats phit like nanojets.",
single work
poetry
(p. 3-7)
Note: With first line: A pair of blue tigers
- 5.07 A.M.i"Sundials shark through", single work poetry (p. 8)
- Summer Figi"A serene riot of bees, a pollen air,", single work poetry (p. 9)
- Breathing Roomi"Friday night in, out", single work poetry (p. 10)
- Skin Repairi"Peeling again, I roll my thumb across", single work poetry (p. 11)
-
Serial Lighti"Across the ditch, next stop Christchurch,",
single work
poetry
(p. 12)
Note: With first line: Across the ditch,
- La Quercia del Tassoi"Here, take my weight, for I'm light as shadow", single work poetry (p. 15)
- The Pain Switchi"The moon's white knife, etching", single work poetry (p. 17)
- Duendei"Just now I thought I heard you say", single work poetry (p. 18)
- The Monastery of Sant'Onofrioi"Winter is in the trees. The fountain's moss-stained", single work poetry (p. 19)
- Public Executioni"On this concrete daylight nicks its blade.", single work poetry (p. 20-21)
- Piazza di Spagnai"No fantastic cascades blitz", single work poetry (p. 22)
- Nothing's True on Tuesdayi"What bass has boomed tonight", single work poetry (p. 23)
- Circular Breathingi"There's a man with dreadlocks playing the didgeridoo", single work poetry (p. 24-25)
- The Iliad (Disambiguation)i"is an e-book device, with an electronic paper-based display", single work poetry (p. 26)
-
Xeniai"Looking back at the introduction",
single work
poetry
(p. 27)
Note: With first line: More than the cause of thunder
- Recycling Nighti"By the electric cyan glow of my phone", single work poetry (p. 28-29)
-
Empire Streeti"Clouds smother the outnumbered sun.",
single work
poetry
(p. 30)
Note: With first line: Cirrus wisps usurp the tyrant sun.
- Crisisi"Once I was entrusted with a planet.", single work poetry (p. 33)
- Januaryi"We sit to a bowl of miso ramen,", single work poetry (p. 34-35)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Words of Great Worth
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 4 August 2012; (p. 30-31) This column comprises the judges' comments on the shortlisted works for the 2012 Age Book of the Year Award. (The list includes three titles, outside the scope of AustLit, by James Boyce, Paul Ham and Jane Gleeson-White.) -
Australian Poetry 2011-2012
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 57 no. 1 2012; (p. 30-46)
— Review of Amphora 2011 selected work poetry ; Edge Music 2011 selected work poetry ; Linen Tough as History 2012 selected work poetry ; Error 2011 selected work poetry ; Night Birds 2010 single work poetry ; Vishvarūpa 2011 selected work poetry ; The Brokenness Sonnets I-III and Other Poems 2011 selected work poetry ; Outside 2011 selected work poetry ; The Welfare of My Enemy 2011 single work poetry ; This Woman 2011 selected work poetry ; Electricity For Beginners 2011 selected work poetry ; Interferon Psalms : 33 Psalms on the 99 Names of God 2011 selected work poetry ; Keeping Carter 2012 selected work poetry ; The Keeper of Fish 2011 selected work poetry ; A Sudden Sentence in the Air : Jazz Poems 2011 selected work poetry ; Concrete Tuesday 2011 selected work poetry ; The Bearded Chameleon 2011 selected work poetry ; Southern Barbarians 2009 selected work poetry ; The Yellow Gum's Conversion 2011 selected work poetry ; Four Refrains 2011 selected work poetry ; Surface to Air 2011 selected work poetry ; Knuckled 2011 selected work poetry -
The Latest Word
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Wet Ink , no. 26 2012; (p. 53-54)
— Review of Surface to Air 2011 selected work poetry -
Alison Clifton Reviews Jaya Savige
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Cordite Poetry Review , 12 February vol. 37 no. 1 2012;
— Review of Surface to Air 2011 selected work poetry -
Time-Travelling Collection Takes Surprising Paths
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 24)
— Review of Surface to Air 2011 selected work poetry
-
Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , August vol. 91 no. 2 2011; (p. 31)
— Review of Surface to Air 2011 selected work poetry -
Enclave of Images
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 336 2011; (p. 63)
— Review of Surface to Air 2011 selected work poetry -
Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , November vol. 4 no. 1 2011;
— Review of Surface to Air 2011 selected work poetry -
Poetic Cool with Wit and Serious Style
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 19 November 2011; (p. 32)
— Review of Surface to Air 2011 selected work poetry -
Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , October no. 10 2011;
— Review of Surface to Air 2011 selected work poetry -
Words of Great Worth
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 4 August 2012; (p. 30-31) This column comprises the judges' comments on the shortlisted works for the 2012 Age Book of the Year Award. (The list includes three titles, outside the scope of AustLit, by James Boyce, Paul Ham and Jane Gleeson-White.)
Awards
- 2012 shortlisted The Age Book of the Year Award — Dinny O'Hearn Poetry Prize
- 2012 longlisted ASAL Awards — ALS Gold Medal
- 2011 shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards — Poetry
Last amended 4 Mar 2013 10:35:09
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