Paul Munden Paul Munden i(8427331 works by)
Gender: Male
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 y separately published work icon Five Oceans Cassandra Atherton , Oz Hardwick , Paul Hetherington , Paul Munden , Jen Webb , Kambah : Recent Work Press , 2023 27278500 2023 selected work poetry

'In this volume, five prose poets explore the Five major oceans as they are currently classified: the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian, the Southern and the Arctic. Each 21-part sequence of poems is a particular-and sometimes oblique-rumination on one of these vast bodies of water. Together they offer an inspiring and sometimes troubling exploration of our relationship with what is, essentially, a single oceanic entity.'  (Publication summary)

1 Caravaggio, Rabit and Ox i "of robe, of load on flesh", Heather Taylor Johnson , Paul Munden , Oliver Comins , 2023 single work poetry
— Appears in: Rabbit , 37 2023; (p. 72-75)
1 y separately published work icon Five Tastes Cassandra Atherton , Jen Webb , Oz Hardwick , Paul Hetherington , Paul Munden , Canberra : Recent Work Press , 2022 25550887 2022 anthology poetry

'In these prose poem sequences, five different tastes are explored, not only with reference to food and drink,but also through their metaphorical use. There are innumerable ways of ‘tasting’ and apprehending theworld, and these poems canvass a wide range of them while also encouraging readers to consider their own diverse tastes, preferences and experiences.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 1 y separately published work icon Amplitude Paul Munden , Canberra : Recent Work Press , 2022 23668225 2022 selected work poetry

'Whether in the Venetian footsteps of Vivaldi, at the birth of the Owen and Sassoon violins or the score of a Sam Peckinpah film, these poems present a wealth of musical scenarios, all interconnected in their themes, tonality and form. Their reverberations reach across time and space, from England and Italy to the Australian outback, with the visual arts also in the mix. And yet the core of this book is deeply personal, the poet present as a ten-year-old boy, lover, grandfather – or anachronistic witness – at the various trials of life through which creativity and even humour somehow flourishes.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 y separately published work icon Five Ages Cassandra Atherton , Oz Hardwick , Paul Hetherington , Paul Munden , Jen Webb , Canberra : Recent Work Press , 2021 23601833 2021 anthology poetry

'Hesiod’s Five Ages famously proides a vision of the decline of human society that has resonated for many centuries. In this anthology, five poets take Hesiod’s versions of the golden, silver, bronze, heroic and iron ages as their starting points to craft five individual ‘chapbooks’ of prose poetry – not only exploring notions from Hesiodbut also venturing into many new concepts that reconceptualise these ages.These twenty-first century poems challenge many of the archaic Greek poet’s assumptions and ideas, writing back to the ancient world with bravura while employing quintessentially contemporary inflections and preoccupations.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 y separately published work icon Divining Dante Paul Munden (editor), Nessa O'Mahony (editor), Canberra : Recent Work Press , 2021 21210839 2021 anthology poetry '2021 is the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri, author of the long narrative poetic trilogy, The Divine Comedy. In a time of global pandemic, Dante’s exploration of the relationship between the physical and spiritual worlds and humankind’s responsibilities to each other seems particularly relevant, and to commemorate Dante’s anniversary we invited 70 poets from around the world to respond to Dante’s famous work, assisted by a team of seven contributing editors: Paul Munden (UK), Nessa O’Mahony (Ireland), Paul Hetherington (Australia), Alvin Pang (Singapore), Priya Sarukkai Chabria (India), Moira Egan (Italy) and David Fenza (US).'
1 y separately published work icon No News: 90 Poets Reflect on a Unique BBC Newscast Paul Munden (editor), Alvin Pang (editor), Shane Strange (editor), Canberra : Recent Work Press , 2020 19691704 2020 anthology poetry

'On 18 April, 1930, at 8.45pm, the BBC announced: ‘There is no news.’ Piano music played for the rest of the 15-minute bulletin.

'So the story goes.

'90 poets from across the world reflect on a this marker of a time before the 24-hour news cycle, before the ubiquity of news and information that seems to haunt us through our daily lives. Through this anthology there are poems that capture that moment of nothing but piano music making up an evening news bulletin, poems that contrast this with today’s news, and personal stories grounded in the intervening years.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

1 An Artist's Studio i "You stand in the sweat-", Paul Munden , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , May vol. 10 no. 1 2020;
1 Temporary Resident i "I wormed my way in", Paul Munden , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , May vol. 10 no. 1 2020;
1 Duet i "A two-man crosscut saw", Paul Munden , 2020 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , May vol. 10 no. 1 2020;
1 y separately published work icon Giant Steps : Fifty Poets Reflect on the Apollo 11 Moon Landing and Beyond Paul Munden (editor), Shane Strange (editor), Canberra : Recent Work Press , 2019 16976303 2019 anthology poetry

'On 21 July, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step foot on the moon, uttering those famous words: ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, 50 poets from around the world were asked to reflect upon the achievement of Apollo 11 and our constantly evolving notions of ‘space’.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 Rhyme Paul Munden , 2018 selected work poetry
— Appears in: Prosody 2018;
1 y separately published work icon Prosody Jen Webb , Paul Munden , Cassandra Atherton , Jordan Williams , Paul Hetherington , Kambah : Recent Work Press , 2018 15373147 2018 anthology poetry

'Prosody involves the elements and techniques that attend to the making of poetry, even free verse poetry and hybrid poetic works. Prose poets may work with sentences and paragraphs rather than lines and stanzas, but they too value poetic techniques highly. These five chapbooks explore the relationship of prose poetry to various aspects of prosody. This occasions considerable inventiveness on the part of all contributors and results in a wide variety of moving and entertaining prose poetry.'  (Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon Abstractions Paul Munden (editor), Shane Strange (editor), Canberra : Recent Work Press , 2018 14704499 2018 anthology poetry

'In Abstractions, 10 poets were tasked with addressing each of 10 abstractions: Conjecture, Obligation, Nonsense, Space, Pleasure, Identity, Rhythm, Accuracy, Cost, and Youth.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 Personal Rules : Individual Purpose and the Poetic Line Paul Munden , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , May vol. 8 no. 1 2018;

'To what extent does the poetic line bear the stamp of a particular poetic personality? Is that, in any case, a desirable thing? Do individual poets have their own rules about how the line behaves – the distance it travels, to what purpose, and when and how it breaks – or is it constantly adapted for purpose? Are poets even aware of their process and, if so, honest and open about it? In this paper I consider the various (and varying) uses of the line by poets who have influenced me most profoundly, with examples from my own work to demonstrate my learning and further experiments. Specific reference is made to the influence of cinematic editing, and the role of the line in a poem’s essential memorability. Also addressed are the different effects of the stretch and breaking of the line on the page and when orally delivered.'  (Introduction)

1 'Paint Her to Your Own Mind : Re-inflecting Laurence Sterne’s 18th-century Gesture Paul Munden , Paul Hetherington , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , May vol. 8 no. 1 2018;

'In Volume VI of The Life and Adventures of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Laurence Sterne leaves page 147 entirely blank, in order that readers should create for themselves an image in their minds: ‘as like your mistress as you can——as unlike your wife as your conscience will let you’. In 2016, the Laurence Sterne Trust commissioned 147 writers and artists to put their imaginings onto the page, in whatever material form they might choose. The resulting works were exhibited at Shandy Hall, toured to further venues, and auctioned online. In this paper, two of the writers involved consider the importance of Sterne’s original gesture and its ongoing relevance in a digital age, with its emphasis on interactivity. The paper explores how various artists grappled with the complex issues of making manifest their reactions to Sterne’s invitation. It builds on papers relating to two previous Shandy Hall projects interpreting Sterne’s visual gestures within his text: ‘The Black Page’ and ‘Emblem of My Work’.'  (Introduction)

1 Summer i "Scorched pines. A sweltering stasis. The heat", Paul Munden , 2018 single work poetry
— Appears in: Axon : Creative Explorations , February no. C2 2018;
1 y separately published work icon Irises : The University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor's International Poetry Prize 2017 Monica Carroll (editor), Paul Munden (editor), Canberra : International Poetry Studies Institute (IPSI) , 2017 14234612 2017 anthology poetry
1 1 y separately published work icon Metamorphic : 21st Century Poets Respond to Ovid Nessa O'Mahony (editor), Paul Munden (editor), Canberra : Recent Work Press , 2017 13997086 2017 anthology poetry

'In AD 8, Publius Ovidius Naso, the poet Ovid, was exiled from Rome by emperor Augustus for composing verses that touched on scandal in the imperial court. Famously grief-stricken, he burnt his manuscript of what would become one of the world's most celebrated anthologies of verse tales, Metamorphoses, which only survived because his friends circulated their copies of it. To celebrate Ovid's 2,000th anniversary, 100 poets were invited to respond to Metamorphoses with new poems that explore the many contemporary resonances in that seminal work.' (Publication summary)

1 His Old Green Notebook Falls Open Paul Munden , 2017 single work prose
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue Website Series , October no. 46 2017;
X