As a child, I only knew this as the place where my grandfather was born, the name full of bright, fiery growth like I saw near home, our forests full of ferns both red and green. In history class I learnt this was the scene of old but living wars, fought, neither won nor lost.Continue reading “Redfern When”
Tag Archives: politics
Damascus Road: Paris Interlude
Now it happens in places with names we know: near streets we have walked, in stadiums and concert halls, in coffee shops, where violence never breathed before, where we were safe. Now we look for signs of links to Syria, to al-Assad, ISIL, and cells which fire. Nothing has prepared us, yet to others thisContinue reading “Damascus Road: Paris Interlude”
Rudd and Bonhoeffer: A Verse Comparison
A conversation with my girlfriend after the recent Australian election prompted her to suggest that I might write a poem about my disappointment with Kevin Rudd, a man who in the past has professed a Christian approach to politics that I have identified with. It isn’t exactly nuanced political commentary, but it was therapeutic toContinue reading “Rudd and Bonhoeffer: A Verse Comparison”
Of the People (After Marianne Moore’s “In Distrust of Merits”)
Well, having written a silly poem about the democratic process this morning I am now writing a serious one, in response to one of Marianne Moore’s most magnificent poems, “In Distrust of Merits“. A critique of war-mongering, it is easily one of the finest poems of the 20th century. I’m a little wary of puttingContinue reading “Of the People (After Marianne Moore’s “In Distrust of Merits”)”
Doggerel for the Federal Election in the Seat of Melbourne
Adam Bandt Shook my hand Quite a hand Had Adam Bandt If I had Not have planned How to vote, then Adam Bandt Would have won me with his hand (What a hand Had Adam Bandt). Cath Bowtell’s Quite nice as well She smiled at all And offered help But she did not shake myContinue reading “Doggerel for the Federal Election in the Seat of Melbourne”
The Consolations of Writing 