The Octave of Elephants single work   poetry   "Bull elephants, when not weeping need, wander soberly alone."
Is part of Presence : Translations from the Natural World Les Murray , 1992 sequence poetry
  • Author:agent Les Murray http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/murray-les
Issue Details: First known date: 1990... 1990 The Octave of Elephants
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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Sydney Morning Herald 25 August 1990 Z618552 1990 newspaper issue 1990 pg. 72
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    y separately published work icon The Sunday Herald 12 August 1990 Z628432 1990 newspaper issue 1990 pg. 35
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    y separately published work icon The Adelaide Review no. 86 March 1991 Z606719 1991 periodical issue 1991 pg. 22
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    y separately published work icon Translations from the Natural World Les Murray , Paddington : Isabella Press , 1992 Z208589 1992 selected work poetry Translations from the Natural World, Les Murray's new collection of poems, is, like all his work, rich in inventiveness, perception, and a rare delight in the mimetic powers of language. Its centerpiece is 'Presence', a sequence of forty 'translations from the natural world' about a variety of natural settings and their amazing denizens. Lyre birds, honeycombs, sea lions, cuttlefish, and possums all act as spurs to Murray's protean talents for description and imitation. As Lachlan MacKinnon wrote in The Times Literary Supplement, 'These poems, a grand tour of the given, are a great hymn to the particularities in which God's creative generosity is expressed, and they will be widely enjoyed and admired. Their technical and linguistic largesse confirms . . . that Les Murray is one of the very finest poets in whom the English language is now at work.' (Libraries Australia) Paddington : Isabella Press , 1992 pg. 32
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Sydney Review no. 45 August 1992 Z606721 1992 newspaper issue 1992 pg. 10
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    y separately published work icon Collected Poems Les Murray , Port Melbourne : Heinemann Australia , 1994 Z422024 1994 selected work poetry Port Melbourne : Heinemann Australia , 1994 pg. 382
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    y separately published work icon Selected Poems Les Murray , Melbourne : Black Inc. , 2007 Z1434567 2007 selected work poetry (taught in 2 units) 'Selected Poems ... comprises what Murray himself considers his most successfully realised poems, drawn from all his collections up to and including The Biplane Houses but not including his two verse novels.' (Publisher's blurb) Melbourne : Black Inc. , 2007 pg. 139
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    y separately published work icon The Best 100 Poems of Les Murray Les Murray , Collingwood : Black Inc. , 2012 Z1897512 2012 selected work poetry 'From his life’s work so far, spanning more than four decades, Les Murray has selected these 100 poems, his personal best. Including classics such as 'The Broad Bean Sermon', 'An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow' and 'The Dream of Wearing Shorts Forever', this elegant hardback is guaranteed to delight Murray fans and introduce new readers to his work. This is a wonderful gift, and a treasure trove of the best poems ever written in Australia.' (From the publisher's website.) Collingwood : Black Inc. , 2012 pg. 48-49
Alternative title: Die Oktave der Elefanten
First line of verse: "Elefantenbullen wandern, wenn sie ihren Drang nicht weinen allein davon."
Language: German
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Works about this Work

Fusion and Translation : Les Murray's Australia Ashok Bery , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: Cultural Translation and Postcolonial Poetry 2007; (p. 51-73)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (1)
Last amended 22 Apr 2020 10:48:43
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