Les Murray By Steven Matthews, Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 2001, 184 pp, 190 x 129 mm, paperback, $29.95. Reviewed by Tarita Clark in the December 2002 issue. Help more readers find out about this article
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... How good's your poem?
Can it make [people] alive again?
-- Fredy Neptune Poetry throughout time has often been the victim of sarcastic laughter by the more 'serious' of writers and scholars as florid tales of love won and lost have sprung quickly to mind as the 'p' word is uttered. As an high school student introduced to the works of Australian poet Les Murray, I felt a renewed interest in the world of poetry, as ponies became able to fly ('Spring Hail') and the silence of the Australian landscape was really filled with the whispers of history ('Noonday Axeman'). For me, Murray had tapped so many unuttered thoughts from our past, present and the multiple futures which could all await us, so specifically Australian in nature.
With Les Murray, author Steven Matthews has sought to locate the poet within a specifically Australian cultural context, consisting of a complex collection of themes and values. Here Matthews places himself in a dangerous predicament. Murray is undeniably one of Australia's best-known poets and, regardless of one's own personal beliefs on his work, his peers (and public) have acclaimed him as the one of the quintessential voices of the nation. Thus, in his attempts to understand and communicate the very essence of Murray's work, its origins and impetus, its value and expression, means Matthews faces the obvious danger of losing the 'quality of sprawl' which has so characterised Murray's poetic journey.
Potential readers will, however, be pleased to note that this thorough mini-biography and literature appraisal is both even and fair to Australia's Poet Laureate.
Beginning with a small biography, Matthews attempts to demonstrate to his reader 'the excitement and the sense of risk and affront within Murray's version of an idealised, polydialectical, poetic voice'. Matthews then delves into the life of Murray: his ties to the land and family, academia (and his disillusionment with it); and his various poetic influences from Celtic and 'traditional' sources to the Jindyworobak movement of the 1930-1950s. The division of this text into a chronological sequence also allows the reader to grasp a clearer understanding of Murray's evolution as a poet to be examined, with reference to key works. This, coupled with Matthews' attention to historic detail, allows the reader to place Murray's work within a specific location and time frame, offering example of the motivations for and reactions to Murray's work in an open and even-handed manner.
Whilst Matthews provides readers with an excellent analysis of Murray, his works and motivations, he has in some sense alienated potential readers with his choice of vocabulary. At times, the true meaning of the analysis is waylaid by an assumption that his intended audience is familiar with poetic convention and academic expression. To be fair, Matthews has assembled an excellent text for those seeking to understand and appreciate the work of Les Murray. It draws from all of Murray's published works, and does not hesitate to show the controversy that Murray's words have created within Australia and Australians. This, one might consider to be useful, since Murray himself is constantly re-evaluating and re-examining what it is to be an Australian.
Citation - Tarita Clark. 'Review: Les Murray by Steven Matthews' [online]. Network Review of Books (Perth, Australian Public Intellectual Network), December 2002. Availability: <please cite the web address here> ISSN 1833-0932. [accessed 23 May 2013].
Back Cover Blurb - Les Murray is amongst the most gifted poets writing today. His multifaceted talents have received high praise both in Australia and beyond. But he has also proved a controversial figure, whose poetry strays across the boundaries of political and cultural debate. His version of republicanism has caused heated argument about the future direction of Australia as we move out of the shadow of our colonial past.
In this, the only full critical study of Murray's work available, Steven Matthews provides a complete picture of his career to date, from its early parables of national emergence to the working man's epic encounter with the major events of the twentieth century, Fredy Neptune. Matthews provides detailed readings of key poems, as well as literary and cultural contexts for the rapid shifts in style and subject matter Murray has made from collection to collection. He also gives an overview of Murray's place within Australian literature and national thought.
Written in a way that engages academics working in the field and students or general readers new to Murray's poetry, this study offers a striking take on one of the most significant figures in world literature today.
Have You Also Read? Australia's First Rotary Club: A History of the Rotary Club of Melbourne
 Owen Parnaby, Carlton South: Melbourne University Press, 2002, 232 Pages, Hardcover, $49.95Reviewed by Jennifer Rogers in the July 2003 issue.This book reads like a blueprint for cooperation between corporate heavyweights, bureaucratic leaders and a vast array of professionals in search of ways to be socially responsible. Despite the aura of elitism aided by its recruitment policy of invitation only, the projects undertaken and the immense contribution the Rotary Club of Melbourne has made to its community deserves to be documented. Parnaby's lovingly researched work details not only the beginnings of the Melbourne branch of Rotary but the genesis of the original organisation in Chicago in 1905. He goes to great lengths to elicit our empathy for the founder of Rotary, Paul Harris, and Harris's journey of discovery and hardship ... read more.
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Issue 44
Popular Music: Practices, Formations and Change - Australian Perspectives
