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y separately published work icon Cumulus : Collected Poems selected work   poetry  
Issue Details: First known date: 2012... 2012 Cumulus : Collected Poems
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'This book is a landmark in Australian poetry. For Cumulus, Robert Gray has chosen all he wishes to retain from his eight volumes of poetry, some of it considerably and significantly revised. He has included here a new book, "Nameless Earth", not previously published in Australia.

'Gray has been a daring and original experimenter in the free verse line, and also at times with traditional forms. Equally, his work is notable for its frequent, uncanny rightness in the creation of images. His thinking shows a remarkable fluency in both Eastern and Western philosophies (Gray has referred to himself as a Buddhist heretic). These are all modernist pathways, and this poetry negotiates them with a lucid, classical temper.

'Most striking is an ever-alert immediacy—a perception and reflectiveness in the fluid moment. Whether through his sensuous language or his powerful engagement with ideas, Gray's poetry continually opens us to a fresh involvement with the physical world.' (From the publisher's website.)

Notes

  • Has author's note.
  • Dedication: To Dee Jones.

Contents

* Contents derived from the St Kilda, Caulfield - St Kilda area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,:John Leonard Press , 2012 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Journey : The North Coasti"Next thing, I wake up in a swaying bunk,", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 1)
The Farm Woman Speaksi"Winter has arrived, the winds scour this place.", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 2-3)
Note: With title: A Farm Woman Speaks
Kangaroo "His hungry face" A Kangarooi"That hungry face", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 4)
Note: With title: The Kangaroo
Bright Dayi"The fantail is tying", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 5)
Landscapei"Thumping of the waves.", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 6-7)
Morningi"Feeding chickens, pollard scattered like wet sand.", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 8-9)
During the Bombing : 1967i"Poplars, in this rain at night,", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 10-11)
18 Poems [Short Poems]i"Sanding the floorboards;", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 12-13)
Note: With first line: At dusk, scything
The Hospitali"All day, I've escaped within this book.", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 14-15)
Within the Traveller's Eyei"A late afternoon. From this passing train", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 16-18)
`The Single Principle of Forms'i"All day a storm has fermented. Now the clouds are huge above the mountains.", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 19)
Note: With first line: All day a storm has fermented; now the clouds are huge above
12 Poems Short Poemsi"Scaffolding, train-sound ...", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 20-21)
The Meat Works The Meatworksi"Most of them worked around the slaughtering", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 22-23)
To the Master Dogen Zenji (1200-1253 AD)i"Dogen came in and sat on the wood platform;", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 24-27)
A Laboureri"He has to go out early, before work, half asleep", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 28)
15 Poems "You forgot the flowers," [Short Poems], Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 29-30)
Note: With title: 13 Poems
The Sawmill Shacksi"The shacks are overgrown on the mountainside", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 31-37)
North Coast Towni"Out beside the highway, first thing in the morning,", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 38)
Late Ferryi"The late ferry is leaving now;", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 41-42)
In the Busi"In the back of an old country bus, down a bitumen side road", Robert Gray , single work poetry (p. 43)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • St Kilda, Caulfield - St Kilda area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: John Leonard Press , 2012 .
      person or book cover
      Image courtesy of John Leonard Press.
      Extent: ix, 346p.p.
      Description: illus.
      Note/s:
      • Includes index of titles.
      ISBN: 9780980852356 (pbk.)

Works about this Work

Review Short : Robert Gray’s ‘Cumulus’ Aidan Coleman , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Cordite Poetry Review , no. 41 2013;

— Review of Cumulus : Collected Poems Robert Gray , 2012 selected work poetry
Precarious Images Lisa Gorton , 2013- single work review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , March 2013;

— Review of Cumulus : Collected Poems Robert Gray , 2012 selected work poetry
Review : Cumulus: Collected Poems Airica Parker , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 27 no. 2 2013; (p. 228-229)

— Review of Cumulus : Collected Poems Robert Gray , 2012 selected work poetry
[Revised] Thoughts as/on Cumulus Stuart Cooke , 2013 single work essay
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 73 no. 2 2013; (p. 23-41)
De Kretster Lands Double in Premier's Awards William Yeoman , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 17 September 2013; (p. 6-7)
All Together Now Geoff Page , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 6 October 2012; (p. 25)

— Review of Cumulus : Collected Poems Robert Gray , 2012 selected work poetry
Master of Art of Change Kevin Hart , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 10 - 11 November 2012; (p. 24-25)

— Review of Cumulus : Collected Poems Robert Gray , 2012 selected work poetry
Anxious Bard's World View with a Buddhist Bent Gig Ryan , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10-11 November 2012; (p. 28-29) The Saturday Age , 10 November 2012; (p. 31)

— Review of Cumulus : Collected Poems Robert Gray , 2012 selected work poetry
The Scope of Experience Martin Duwell , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 346 2012; (p. 62-63)

— Review of Cumulus : Collected Poems Robert Gray , 2012 selected work poetry
Precarious Images Lisa Gorton , 2013- single work review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , March 2013;

— Review of Cumulus : Collected Poems Robert Gray , 2012 selected work poetry
Aspects of Australian Poetry in 2012 Michelle Cahill , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Westerly , June vol. 58 no. 1 2013; (p. 68-91)

'T he act of reading for appraisal rather than pleasure is a privilege that brings me to a deepened understanding of the contemporary in Australian poetry, the way the past is being framed, its traditions, celebrities and enigmas washed up in new and hybrid appearances or redressed in more conventional, sometimes nimbus forms. Judith Wright wrote that the ‘place to find clues is not in the present, it lies in the past: a shallow past, as all immigrants to Australia know, and all of us are immigrants.’ The discipline of reading to filter such a range of voices underlines my foreignness, making reading akin to translation, whilst reciprocally inviting the reader of this essay to become a foreigner to my assumptions and conclusions.' (Introduction)

De Kretster Lands Double in Premier's Awards William Yeoman , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 17 September 2013; (p. 6-7)
[Revised] Thoughts as/on Cumulus Stuart Cooke , 2013 single work essay
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 73 no. 2 2013; (p. 23-41)
Last amended 12 Dec 2013 10:24:02
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