Vandemonian by Cliff Forshaw
The term Vandemonian refers to Van Dieman's Land, and Cliff Forshaw's sixth collection focuses on its inhabitants, both human and animal, newcomer and Aborigine, to piece together a fragmentary history of Tasmania. The first section moves from the island's mythic beginnings as Trowenna, through its discovery by Europeans andthe subsequent destruction of native peoples and wildlife as it becomes a penal colony's own penal colony. The poems roam wider and eventually fetch up on the mainland. "A Ned Kelly Hymnal" reflects on the legend of the famous outlaw, its use by artists and its ambiguous ubiquity as a symbol of Australian identity. The book concludes with "The Shoal Bay Death Spirit Dreaming": an elegy for one whitefella victim of the Australian sun. The poem considers death and displacement through the disorientating effects of modern travel which foster oblique reflections on a famous aborigine artwork, the huge collaborative painting by Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and his brother Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri,The Napper by Death Spirit Dreaming.
"As always, Cliff Forshaw's writing embodies a large intelligenceThese are poems of voyage, exertion and discovery, enjoying the challenge of unpredictable and unusual locations, both geographical and psychological. At the same time, they demonstrate grounded, dependable craft. They never trick the reader, but, witty and exuberant, send us on our poetic journeys with new imaginative maps." Carol Rumens
Cliff Forshaw left school at sixteen and worked in an abattoir before studying painting at art college and developing an interest in languages and literatures. After working in Spain, Mexico, Italy, Germany, New York and London, he completed his doctorate on Renaissance Literature at Oxford. Since then he has lived in Snowdonia, and taught at Bangor and now Hull University. Cliff has been International Writer-in-Residence at Hobart, Tasmania, winner of the Welsh Academi John Tripp Award, Blue Nose Poet-of-the-Year, twice a Hawthornden Writing Fellow and a Djerassi Resident Artist in California.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781904614609 |
| ISBN 10 | 1904614604 |
| Title | Vandemonian |
| Author | Cliff Forshaw |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Arc Publications |
| Year published | 2013-01-15 |
| Number of pages | 80 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |