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Mateer writes: ' Burning Swans is a glimpse of iconoclasm, a moment through which an antipodean symbol burns with the light of an individual's past and an adopted country's ahistorical present. The disturbance in the poems is a recognition of loss. Personal relationships replace the abstraction of belief. Images are nourished by blood's pneumonic emotion. And energised by the charcoal after-image of words.'
'In his first collection of poems, John Mateer restlessly visits the tensions between past and present, himself and others, language and its loss. Experimental and frequently personal in approach, ranging from short lyrics to the sustained exploration of ideas, Burning Swans shows an exciting young poet at the beginning of his writing life.(From the inside cover of the work).'
Notes
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Dedication: For my mother
Contents
- The Premonitioni"I attempt to peel the newspaper, but", single work poetry (p. 13)
- That Stonei"On my way to the Aberdeen I", single work poetry (p. 14)
- On the Horseshoe Bridgei"Walking over the Horseshoe Bridge I", single work poetry (p. 15)
- Fire Imaginedi"Past fire is present in thick grasstrees", single work poetry (p. 16)
- For a Whilei"For a while I haven't felt alive.", single work poetry (p. 17)
- Two Years Agoi"When the locust plague", single work poetry (p. 18)
- Awakening Nighti"Throbbing", single work poetry (p. 19)
- Childish Stari"Things combine, nonplussed. A day", single work poetry (p. 20)
- The Disbeliefi"In the Mt. Lawley cafe I sit across the table", single work poetry (p. 21)
- The Siren-Songi"Nipping the wine-glass against his chest", single work poetry (p. 22)
- Enough Paini"As a moth flapped looping around the room", single work poetry (p. 23)
- A Wedding Poemi"Slowly injected with life, the roses on", single work poetry (p. 24)
- For Those Who Remember and Forgeti"After eating a slice of my cousin's wedding cake", single work poetry (p. 25-26)
- A New South Africa (for Pierre Mayer)i"Only the spur-of-the-moment phonecall, the", single work poetry (p. 27-29)
- Distant Friendsi"In his empty room the Polish woman", single work poetry (p. 30)
- Watchi"Her father had worn that watch", single work poetry (p. 31)
- The Droughti"The letter he wrote couldn't make sense.", single work poetry (p. 32)
- A Friend's Storyi"In a dingy stairwell I was told", single work poetry (p. 33)
- Their Fighti"What do you say to your best friend", single work poetry (p. 34)
- Exilei"Serpil spoke about the beautiful country,", single work poetry (p. 35)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
- y Literary Migrations : White, English-Speaking Migrant Writers in Australia Wollongong : 2011 Z1860612 2011 single work thesis 'In this thesis, I am arguing that [a] false core/periphery binary has made a particular group of migrants ,-those who are white and have migrated from English-speaking countries - invisible - invisible as migrants, that is. For the writers within this group, this leads to a critical blindness in relation to their work and place within Australian national literature. As a critic, however, I look at the work of Ruth Park, Alex Miller and John Mateer and see it is profoundly influenced by their migrant experience. More often than not they write about themes that are typical of migrant writing: alienation, identity, belonging, home, being in-between cultures, history. For a more appropriate, complete appreciation of their work, this thesis argues that it is imperative to go back to the beginning and return the 'default setting' of migrant to its literal meaning.' [From the author's abstract]
-
'Talking with Yagan's Head' : The Poetry of John Mateer
2000
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , October vol. 19 no. 4 2000; (p. 387-398) -
Review : Burning Swans
1996
single work
— Appears in: Current Writing : Text and Reception in Southern Africa , vol. 8 no. 1 1996;
— Review of Burning Swans 1994 selected work poetry -
The Use of Burning Swans: The South African Background to an `Iconoclastic' Language
1995
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: Westerly , Autumn vol. 40 no. 1 1995; (p. 53-58) -
Clear Eyes and Muddy Palettes
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , May vol. 39 no. 5 1995; (p. 78-81)
— Review of Night Rainbows 1994 selected work poetry ; Our Houses Are Full of Smoke 1994 selected work poetry ; View from the Turret : (World War II) 1994 sequence poetry ; South China 1994 selected work poetry ; Flying the Coop : New and Selected Poems 1972-1994 1994 selected work poetry ; Burning Swans 1994 selected work poetry ; Coming Up for Light 1994 selected work poetry ; West of Krakatoa : Poems 1994 selected work poetry ; Fireworks and Sparrows : Selected Poems 1994 selected work poetry ; Language of the Icons 1993 selected work poetry
-
Untitled
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: Fremantle Arts Review , August/September vol. 9 no. 4 1994; (p. 13-14)
— Review of Burning Swans 1994 selected work poetry -
Live Fragments from the Poetry War
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 139 1995; (p. 74-76)
— Review of Human Interest 1994 selected work poetry ; Burning Swans 1994 selected work poetry ; Such Sweet Thunder 1994 selected work poetry ; The Cave After Saltwater Tide 1994 selected work poetry -
Smooth Operators of Young Poets Society
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 29-30 October 1994; (p. rev 6)
— Review of Paper Nautilus 1994 selected work poetry ; Path of Ghosts : Poems 1986-93 1994 selected work poetry ; Burning Swans 1994 selected work poetry ; The Beggar's Codex 1994 selected work poetry -
Untitled
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , Spring vol. 39 no. 3 1994; (p. 95-97)
— Review of Crosshatched 1994 selected work poetry ; Burning Swans 1994 selected work poetry -
Clear Eyes and Muddy Palettes
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , May vol. 39 no. 5 1995; (p. 78-81)
— Review of Night Rainbows 1994 selected work poetry ; Our Houses Are Full of Smoke 1994 selected work poetry ; View from the Turret : (World War II) 1994 sequence poetry ; South China 1994 selected work poetry ; Flying the Coop : New and Selected Poems 1972-1994 1994 selected work poetry ; Burning Swans 1994 selected work poetry ; Coming Up for Light 1994 selected work poetry ; West of Krakatoa : Poems 1994 selected work poetry ; Fireworks and Sparrows : Selected Poems 1994 selected work poetry ; Language of the Icons 1993 selected work poetry -
Wrestling with Demons
Mike Shuttleworth
(interviewer),
1994
single work
interview
— Appears in: Fremantle Arts Review , August/September vol. 9 no. 4 1994; (p. 3-4) - y Literary Migrations : White, English-Speaking Migrant Writers in Australia Wollongong : 2011 Z1860612 2011 single work thesis 'In this thesis, I am arguing that [a] false core/periphery binary has made a particular group of migrants ,-those who are white and have migrated from English-speaking countries - invisible - invisible as migrants, that is. For the writers within this group, this leads to a critical blindness in relation to their work and place within Australian national literature. As a critic, however, I look at the work of Ruth Park, Alex Miller and John Mateer and see it is profoundly influenced by their migrant experience. More often than not they write about themes that are typical of migrant writing: alienation, identity, belonging, home, being in-between cultures, history. For a more appropriate, complete appreciation of their work, this thesis argues that it is imperative to go back to the beginning and return the 'default setting' of migrant to its literal meaning.' [From the author's abstract]
-
The Use of Burning Swans: The South African Background to an `Iconoclastic' Language
1995
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: Westerly , Autumn vol. 40 no. 1 1995; (p. 53-58) -
'Talking with Yagan's Head' : The Poetry of John Mateer
2000
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , October vol. 19 no. 4 2000; (p. 387-398)