Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Les Murray: I would rather be ashes than dust

As Les used to say success is the sweetest revenge ...

 Gabbie and Ruby at Coogee Pavillion 
Located in Coogee and affectionately known by locals and regular patrons as “The Pav”, the Coogee Pavilion is the ultimate social spot in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. As the interior decor suggests, you’ll have a whale of a time! For more information on how to get there, the food, drinks and good vibes, read on and find out what’s coming up at the Coogee Pavilion!
“They’ve shut their secret in a chest, but failed / to lock it.”

“I wanted to tell her 
 about my father’s death, then thought:
 I’m too old / to be an orphan.”

The great Les Murray has stepped down as poetry editor of Quadrant -- after twenty-eight years ! -- and they have a nice and very extensive selection of tributes In Praise of Les Murray there now. 
These poems know that they are governed by a tangled logic. They also, crucially, realize that human life is not always governed by any perceptible logic and do not try to explain the inexplicable to their readers. 
He Resigns



                   Age, and the deaths, and the ghosts.

                        Her having gone away
                        in spirit from me. Hosts
                        of regrets come and find me empty.

                        I don’t feel this will change.
                        I don’t want anything
                        or person, familiar or strange.
                        I don’t think I will sing

                        anymore just now,
                        or ever. I must start
                        to sit with a blind brow
                        above an empty heart.



 Seeking pun-ters for Canberra’s pun competition, Capital Punishment Sydney Morning Herald

CoDa      
  Czech out link s to books  coming-in-2019 lists in various publications
JIM TREACHER: Gillette Tells Men They’re Repulsive Creeps. Now Give Them Your Money, You Piece of Garbage. “Our society has come a long way in shaming men for behaving in any way that anybody anywhere doesn’t like, and reminding men that we’re all complicit even if we don’t behave that way. But it’s not nearly enough. The mere fact of maleness is shameful and problematic. Men and boys everywhere need to be reminded that we’re evil. We must learn to hate ourselves as much as everyone else hates us. The patriarchy must be castrated. And who better to do it than a company that makes razors?”
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