Andrew Lansdown

Paintings with Andrew’s poems

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:05:36 +0000

Fremantle Press has just published a book of Brian Simmonds’ paintings of the Swan River. The painter has chosen two of Andrew’s poems to accompany two of his paintings.

The poem “Fishing” accompanies the painting “Fishing below Fremantle Traffic Bridge” while the poem “The Japanese Gardener” complements the painting “Freshwater Bay looking south-east toward Bicton”.

Titled simply The River, the large format book contains over 100 quite beautiful paints. Simmonds states in the Introduction:

“The River is a pictorial statement on the Swan as a thing of beauty; there are no statistics, no history or geography. It’s not a book for serious study but one that I hope will be enjoyed in the way that I’ve intended it: as a picture book that offers pleasure in its glimpses of the river scenery in my part of the world. …”

The West Australian newspaper published a brief review of The River on 3 January. The review concluded with the full text of Andrew’s tanka, “Fishing” (albeit with several words transposed!). The review can be read here: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/12484541/book-review-the-river/

“Fishing” was published with a companion poem, “Homecoming”, in Andrew’s first poetry collection, Homecoming (Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 1979). The page on which these two poems appeared was headed, “TWO TANKA FOR SUSAN“. Here, with Andrew’s dedication newly and rightfully inserted, is the poem:

Fishing

for Susan

We stand on the shore

and cast lines out from us. We

both wait for something

unknown to bite, for the tug

at the line’s far-away end.

© Andrew Lansdown

Andrew’s poetry in major anthology

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:29:29 +0000

Six of Andrew’s poems have been included in the new 1108 page anthology, Australian Poetry Since 1788, edited by Geoffrey Lehmann and Rober Gray and published by the University of New South Wales Press.

The rationale for the antholgy is stated on the inside jacket:

“A good poem is one that the world can’t forget or is delighted to rediscover. This landmark anthology of Australian poetry, edited by two of Australia’s foremost poets, Geoffrey Lehmann and Robert Gray, contains such poems. It is the first of its kind for Australia and promises to become a classic.

“Included here are Australia’s major poets, and lesser-known but equally affecting ones, and all manifestations of Australian poetry since 1788, from concrete poems to prose poems, from the cerebral to the naïve, from the humorous to the confessional, and from formal to free verse. Translations of some striking Aboriginal song poems are one of the high points.

“Containing over 1000 poems from 170 Australian poets, as well as short critical biographies, this careful reevaluation of Australian poetry makes this a superb book that can be read and enjoyed over a lifetime.”

The poems the editors selected from Andrew’s body of work are: “Four Men”; “The Grasshopper Heart”; “A Good Night”; “The Muff Bees”; “Warrior-Monk”; and “Lighting a Match”.

Retailing for $69.95, Australian Poetry Since 1788 can be purchased from bookshops, or from the publisher at: http://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/isbn/9781742232638.htm

Several reviews of Australian Poetry Since 1788 can be found here:

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/10348507/book-review-australian-poetry-since-1788ForceRecrawl/

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/poetic-justice/story-e6frg8n6-1226145770823

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/australian-poetry-since-1788-shows-were-not-averse-to-a-lot-of-verse/story-e6frg8nf-1226143450027

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/1788-and-all-that-verse-20110930-1l0×4.html

Poems in Oct & Dec Quadrant

admin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:36:09 +0000

Two recent issues of Quadrant have included poems by Andrew.

“Shell Crab Haiku” was published in the October 2011 issue and is posted on the Quadrant website here: http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2011/10/shell-crab-haiku

“Fisherman, Busselton Jetty” was published in the December 2011 issue and is posted on the Quadrant website here: http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2011/12/fisherman-busselton-jetty

Painter inspired by Andrew’s poem

admin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 06:07:29 +0000

Calabrian artist Krisztina Szabo wrote to Andrew this week stating, “Recently I have found a beautiful poem of yours that inspired me to paint a picture. Actually I would like to post your poem on my blog”.

The poem Krisztina referred to is “Almond Blossom Haiku”. Read Andrew’s poem and view Krisztina’s paintings at: http://arteonweb.blogspot.com/2011/05/mandorlo.html

Paintings (above and below) - ALMOND BLOSSOM / MANDORLO (1 & 2) by Krisztina Szabo

Judges’ report on tanka competition

admin — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 04:07:46 +0000

The winner of the 2011 Fremantle Press Online Tanka Competition has been announced today.

Andrew was one of the judges. Wendy Jenkins was the other.

Andrew wrote the final Judges’ Report on behalf of both judges. The Report, which has been posted on the Fremantle Press blogsite (here), is reproduced below:

Judges’ Report - Fremantle Press Online Tanka Competition

There were a number of strong entries for the 2011 Fremantle Press Online Tanka Competition. The judges, Wendy Jenkins and Andrew Lansdown, settled on a shortlist of three tanka and, after some to-and-fro, selected ‘Old Flame’ by Rose van Son as the winner:

Old Flame

all the candles lit

just a flicker now and then

the bowl tightly fits

what is left of you and me

murmurings behind closed doors

— Rose van Son

As Wendy commented in a recent post, ‘ “Old Flame” uses metaphor to evoke the passing of time and dying down of love’s first flame’. Both Wendy and Andrew felt that ‘Old Flame’ had a mysterious, open quality. It is an atmospheric poem, conveying both visual and emotional shiftings of light and shadow.

Rose van Son handles the tanka form skilfully, keeping the 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic structure, with each line consisting of a balanced phrase, and achieving a shift of thought after the third line. Rose also handles the title well, making it an integral part of the tanka, and using it to focus the reader’s perceptions. (Note: Using a title with a tanka is an acceptable innovation—for although traditionally tanka do not have titles, they are often accompanied by ‘headnotes’, consisting of a phrase or a sentence explaining the poem’s setting, etc.)

Two other tanka entries deserve particular mention: ‘Treasure’ by Annamaria Weldon and an untitled tanka by Gary Colombo De Piazzi. [READ THE REST OF THE REPORT HERE.]

Andrew on YouTube

admin — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 15:13:19 +0000

Dr_Irina Webster recently interviewed Andrew for her Inspiring Author TV website. The 14 minute interview has now been posted on that website and on the YouTube website.

View the interview on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONZu8v85ut0&feature=player_embedded

View the interview on the Inspiring Author TV website here: http://www.inspiringauthortv.com/watch.php?id=ONZu8v85ut0

Poem in 2nd ed. Dear Dad anthology

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:39:19 +0000

Australian Poetry Ltd has produced a second edition of Dear Dad, which includes a poem, “In from the Garden”, by Andrew.

Celebrating dads, this anthology makes an attractive alternative to the average Father’s Day card. It includes fine poems about dads from poets across the country. This is the second and final edition of Dear Dad.

The second edition features a new original cover design by Melbourne artists Gracia & Louise.

Order copies of Dear Dad from the Australian Poetry website here.

Two Poets launched and on sale!

admin — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:21:46 +0000

The Fremantle Press launch Two Poets was a great success.

The book contains Andrew’s latest collection, The Colour of Life, which consists of 97 poems, most of them previously uncollected. The other collection in the book is Songs Sul G by Kevin Gillam.

View photographs of the launching on the Fremantle Press website here.

Read sample poems from Two Poets here and here.

Fremantle Press has posted media information about Two Poets here.

Purchase Two Poets throught the Fremantle Press website here.

The West Australian newspaper has a pre-launching article about Two Poets on its website here.

Photograph (above) courtesy Fremantle Press:

Back row: Tracy Ryan (The Argument), Andrew Lansdown (Two Poets), Liana Joy Christensen (Voicebox Fremantle), Caitlin Maling (Out of the Asylum)
Front row: Michael Heald (The Moving World), Georgia Richter (Fremantle Press Editorial), Kevin Gillam (Two Poets), His Worship Brad Petitt (Mayor of Fremantle), Amanda Joy (WA Poets Inc.) and John Charles Ryan (dotdotdash magazine).

Andrew to judge tanka competition

admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:03:08 +0000

Fremantle Press has invited Andrew to co-judge its tanka competition. The other judge is Wendy Jenkins. Read the competition details on the Fremantle Press blogsite here: http://www.fremantlepress.blogspot.com/

To assist entrants, Fremantle Press asked Andrew to write an overview of the tanka, its history and formal requirements. Andrew’s short essay has been posted on the Fremantle Press blogsite and is reproduced here:

Talking about Tanka

by Andrew Lansdown

The tanka is a poetic form with a long and rich history. It originated in Japan in the sixth or seventh century and quickly became that nation’s dominant poetic from. The first national poetry anthology, Man’yoshu, compiled in the eighth century, contains 4,500 poems, of which 4,200 are tanka. The 21 imperial anthologies compiled between 905 and 1439 contain over 33,600 tanka.

The Japanese word “tanka” means “short poem” or “short song”. True to its name, a tanka is a short poem consisting of five lines and 31 syllables. The lines are measured by syllables and form a pattern of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables respectively.

Arrangement of lines by syllables is a key feature of the tanka and this feature can be reproduced as effectively in the English language as in the Japanese. The 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic structure guides the phrasing of the poem and lends balance to not only the individual lines but also the poem itself. … [READ MORE - http://andrewlansdown.com/poetry/poetry-collections/consolations/]

Andrew interviewed in the West Australian

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:21:25 +0000

The Books Editor of the West Australian newspaper, William Yeoman, interviewed Andrew and three other poets whose books will be released by Fremantle Press this week.

Excerpts of the interviews appeared in an article titled “Collections of verse sung in a human key” in the West Australian on Tuesday, 5 July (”Today” section, page 7).

Read the full article here: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/arts/9786754/collections-of-verse-in-a-human-key/

Photograph (by Simon Santi for the West Australian) from left to right: Andrew Lansdown, Kevin Gillam & Michael Heald