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y separately published work icon Orpheus in the Undershirt selected work   poetry  
Issue Details: First known date: 2018... 2018 Orpheus in the Undershirt
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'‘With Orpheus in the Undershirt, Kevin Densley has produced his best book yet: sharp but not cutting, tart but not cynical, the collection weaves lyric, barb and lament into a marvellous, prickly garment that soothes as it stimulates. Don’t like small, evocative poems as clear and complex as rockpools? Dive into an eight-page outlaw fistfight roaring with dust and despair. Not interested in ‘When Johnstone’s Circus Came to Town’? (Though why wouldn’t you be, with its ‘toupeed ringmaster/in a red lamé suit’ and aromatic ‘strong whiff of manure’?) Explore instead the death of a bantam ‘inside the chookhouse/among the warm chooky smells’. Unlike most collections which attempt to blend ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, to find the charge of destiny in the nuts and bolts of the everyday, Orpheus does it effortlessly, without need of gimmicks or creaky, overbearing conceits  Here Kevin Densley fuses the marvels and mundanities of life into a witty, searching collection that sings the subtleties of both.’ - James Roderick Burns, Other Poetry' (Publication summary)

Notes

Contents

* Contents derived from the Adelaide, South Australia,:Ginninderra Press , 2018 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Mickey Mouse's Cranial Vaulti"Once, I saw in a book", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 7)
For Shantellei"We stood there,", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 8)
Sequence of Uneasei"black-and-white images return", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 9)
Lal Lal, Victoriai"Smoke from chimneys", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 10)
Virginia Woolf's Manx Cati"From my window", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 11)
To Clarissai"You didn't know", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 12)
Irisi"Memories of my grandmother, Dad's mother - connected to", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 13)
Martha Graham, 1931i"I can't be bothered", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 14)
Michelangelo Antonioni's Il Deserto Rossoi"the green of the grass is much greener", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 15)
Handel's Father Was a Barber-Surgeoni"Is the guitar obbligato", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 16)
Jack Bradshaw and 'Lovely' Rileyi"First, Jack Bradshaw", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 17-19)
A Little Night Musici"Prowling cats howl,", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 20)
A Poem (Almost) Writes Itselfi"The muse does not descend from high", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 21)
Souvenir Postcard, Photographed by Mr Henry Poil, Wangaratta, Victoria, 9 April 1865i"Mad Dan Morgan - dead -", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 22)
Late-in-Life Photograph of Captain Albert Jacka (1893-1932) VC, MC and Bari"Monochrome day,", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 23)
The Valley of the Shadow ofi"Racecourse Road,", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 24-25)
Poses of Languori"Show me women", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 26)
What Happened at University This Weeki"Temelza, a fellow tutor,", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 27)
Lunch with Terrie and Bernadettei"Carlton", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 28)
In Celebration of Great Australian Racehorses.i"In early colonial racing days", Kevin Densley , single work poetry (p. 29-33)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Cultures High and Low James Roderick Burns , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 33 no. 1 2019; (p. 181-183)

— Review of Orpheus in the Undershirt Kevin Densley , 2018 selected work poetry

'From the outset—indeed, from the cover of the book, in the form of a louche, evocative Tasmanian wolf howling along to a bowed lyre—Kevin Densley's latest collection strikes a careful balance: meditations on the complexities (and failings) of popular culture; prickings of high art's bubble of self-satisfaction, with occasional swipes at academic indulgence of the same; and explorations of the folkways of Australian life, with particular emphasis on its seedier historical aspects, from horse racing to bare-knuckle brawling and protracted bushranger shenanigans. As with every polished collection, the poems are arranged with careful attention to transition and the patterning of mood, and they do not fall into readily identifiable blocks but work to maintain this thematic balance. We are welcomed to the worlds of "low" and "high" culture, as well as the vibrant folk history of the continent, and invited to appreciate how this shifting mixture works to create what we know as Australia.' (Introduction)

[Review] Kevin Densley’s Orpheus in the Undershirt Tenille McDermott , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Sūdō Journal , January vol. 1 no. 2019; (p. 114-116)

— Review of Orpheus in the Undershirt Kevin Densley , 2018 selected work poetry
[Review] Orpheus in the Undershirt Robin Hillard , 2018 single work review
— Appears in: Polestar , no. 35 2018; (p. 45-46)

— Review of Orpheus in the Undershirt Kevin Densley , 2018 selected work poetry
[Review] Orpheus in the Undershirt Robin Hillard , 2018 single work review
— Appears in: Polestar , no. 35 2018; (p. 45-46)

— Review of Orpheus in the Undershirt Kevin Densley , 2018 selected work poetry
[Review] Kevin Densley’s Orpheus in the Undershirt Tenille McDermott , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Sūdō Journal , January vol. 1 no. 2019; (p. 114-116)

— Review of Orpheus in the Undershirt Kevin Densley , 2018 selected work poetry
Cultures High and Low James Roderick Burns , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 33 no. 1 2019; (p. 181-183)

— Review of Orpheus in the Undershirt Kevin Densley , 2018 selected work poetry

'From the outset—indeed, from the cover of the book, in the form of a louche, evocative Tasmanian wolf howling along to a bowed lyre—Kevin Densley's latest collection strikes a careful balance: meditations on the complexities (and failings) of popular culture; prickings of high art's bubble of self-satisfaction, with occasional swipes at academic indulgence of the same; and explorations of the folkways of Australian life, with particular emphasis on its seedier historical aspects, from horse racing to bare-knuckle brawling and protracted bushranger shenanigans. As with every polished collection, the poems are arranged with careful attention to transition and the patterning of mood, and they do not fall into readily identifiable blocks but work to maintain this thematic balance. We are welcomed to the worlds of "low" and "high" culture, as well as the vibrant folk history of the continent, and invited to appreciate how this shifting mixture works to create what we know as Australia.' (Introduction)

Last amended 3 Dec 2018 15:59:55
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