The escape sonnets and other poetry

In its four parts, The escape sonnets is concerned with modes of perception and the play of language. 

Born of fire, possessed by darkness : mysticism and Australian poetry

This dissertation is structured around five Australian mystical poets: Ada Cambridge, John Shaw Neilson, Francis Webb, Judith Wright and Kevin Hart. It examines the varieties of Western Christian mysticism upon which these poets draw, or with which they exhibit affinities. A short prelude section to each chapter considers the thematic parallels of their contemporaries, while the final chapter critically investigates constructions of Indigeneity in Australian mystical poetry and the renegotiated mystical poetics of Indigenous poets and theologians. The central argument of this dissertation is that an understanding of Western Christian mysticism is essential to the study of Australian poetry. There are three sub-arguments: firstly, that Australian literary criticism regarding the mystical largely avoids the concept of mysticism as a shifting notion both historically and in the present; secondly, that what passes for mysticism is recurringly subject to poorly defined constructions of mysticism as well as individual poets’ use of the mystical for personal, creative or ideological purposes; thirdly, that in avoiding the concept of a shifting notion critics have ignored the increasing contribution of Australian poets to national and international discourses of mysticism.

Cultural translation and postcolonial poetry

The article reviews the book "Cultural Translation and Postcolonial Poetry," by Ashok Bery.

Anthologies and the anti-republic of Australian gay and lesbian poetry

This is the first article to examine anthologies of gay and lesbian poetry from Australia and New Zealand.

Fear of music : sounded poetry and the poetry soundtrack

This essay proposes the term ‘poetry soundtrack’ for a form of sounded poetry that I have been practising for some years (examples of which can be found in this issue of Axon). The poetry soundtrack is a sonic object made up of original poetry, music, and sound design. Such a form is now being produced—under various names—by numerous poets, thanks to the development of the Digital Audio Workstation (or DAW). In my essay, I argue that the poetry soundtrack has occupied an aesthetic no man’s land between avant-garde ‘sound poetry’ and documentary-style recordings of poetry readings. I propose that a general ‘fear of music’ has led critics to favour such forms, and concomitantly to ignore musico-poetic forms of sounded poetry. In addition, I analyse the ‘digital poetics’ that can be found in producing sounded poetry with a DAW, especially with regard to the ‘vocal staging’ that such technology can produce in the poetry soundtrack.

A collection of Turkish and Persian poetry : manuscript, undated

Cream laid paper with watermarks. 19.9 x 14.3 cm.

War and English poetry

Mode of access: Internet.

Facts and fancies about our "Son of the woods", Henry Clarence Kendall and his poetry : descriptive of the sights and sounds of Australia's mountains, shores and woodlands, a home of many dreams, Henry C. Kendall as Australia's patriot bard" a singer of the dawn.

Mode of access: Internet.

Memoirs of the loves of the poets : biographical sketches of women celebrated in ancient and modern poetry /

Mode of access: Internet.

The fledgling bard and the poetry society /

In verse.

Sir William Temple's essays on ancient & modern learning and on poetry;

Mode of access: Internet.

Spenser, and his poetry.

Mode of access: Internet.