About the Book
'Lawrence's poems are skilfully made artefacts and intensely experiential...[His] characteristic attraction to intensity pays off in a newly austere lyricism.' ("The Age", Melbourne). Anthony Lawrence is one of Australia's most highly-regarded poets and winner of two of the country's most prestigious poetry prizes. He characteristically sets his poems within powerful landscapes and seascapes. There is a dramatic confrontation in them, between the elemental forces of nature, and those within the consciousness of his characters. His focus is on relationships, the rhythms of work, and the presence of danger in these primal settings. In an interview, Lawrence says of his work: "I'd like to think that [...] my poems achieve this tricky balance: landscape veined with humanity, flora, fauna, what's imagined and what's experienced [...] I write about nature to define my life." "Strategies for Confronting Fear", a selection from his seven most recent poetry collections plus a substantial body of new work, is Lawrence's first volume of poetry to be published in the UK. 'Lawrence has crept up on the audience for Australian poetry. He is now one of the most assured and challenging of our poets. This volume ["The Sleep of a Learning Man"] is a testament to craft skills at the service of a relentless self-questioning.' ("Australian Book Review").
Table of Contents:
Robert Penn Warren's Book/11, John Berryman's Death/12, Wolf, Leopard, Falcon, Fawn/13, Whistling Fox/15, Cro-Kill/16, Fencing/18, The Hart Crane Connection/21, Blood Oath/25, Climbing/59, At the Seminar on Teenage Suicide/63, The Ratbag Monologues/65, The Sea-Colour of Their Hunting Eyes/70, A Most Troublesome Possession/76, The Mercenary Heart/79, Cold Wires of Rain/85, Rats/89, Strategies for Confronting Fear/93, Reversals/95, Thanatos/99, Skinned by Light/102, Aurora Australis/107, The Rain/108, The Sleep of a Learning Man/110, In Late September the Dunes/112, Fruit/115, Spring Equinox/116, The Wandering Albatross/118, Fly Agaric/120, Lighthouse/122, Live Sheep Trade/123, Hurricane House/124, What the Executioner Means/126, The Grave of the Southpaw/128, Four am, Nuclear Medicine/130, Scarves/131, Luge/132, Biographical note/135
About the Author :
Anthony Lawrence was born in 1957 in Tamworth, New South Wales and is one of Australia's most highly-regarded poets. He is author of twelve books of poems, the most recent being 'The Sleep of a Learning Man' (Giramondo Publishing, 2004). His books and individual poems have won many of Australia's most prestigious awards, including the Judith Wright Calanthe Award (Queensland Premier's Poetry Prize), the Harri Jones Memorial Award and the Gwen Harwood Memorial Prize. He is also the recipient of a Senior Fellowship from the Australia Council, one of the most prestigious funding awards a writer can be accorded in Australia. His first novel 'In the Half Light' was published by Picador (in Australia and in the UK) in 2000. Anthony Lawrence lives in Hobart, Tasmania, with his son Cormac.
