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y separately published work icon Perverse Serenity selected work   poetry  
Issue Details: First known date: 1990... 1990 Perverse Serenity
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Notes

  • Epigraph: ...And what you thought you came for / Is only a shell, a husk of meaning / From which purpose breaks only when it is fuffilled / If at all. Either you had no purpose / Or the purpose is beyond the end you figured / And is altered in fulfilment... / T. S. Eliot Little Gidding

  • Editor's note: In 1983 Robyn Rowland arrives in Ireland to find the place her family had left three generations before. By accident she visits an Irish abbey near that place. A meeting there becomes an obsessive, passionate but circumscribed love (A). Caught into it is the end of another, older love in Australia (T). The fluid edge of sanity is tested. In this new book-length sequence, poems trace the loss, the pain and the beauty of that time. (Source: 1990 edition)

  • A book-length sequence of poems which is comprised of five numbered parts: Part One (pp. 2-8), Part Two (pp. 10-18), Part Three (pp. 20-29), Part Four (pp. 32-58), Part Five (pp. 60-71).

Contents

* Contents derived from the Port Melbourne, South Melbourne - Port Melbourne area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,:Heinemann Australia , 1990 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Searchingi"Dislocated to find location I come in search of family,", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 2-3)
The Beginningi"There I entered Ireland-", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 4-8)
Jugglingi"I am learning to live", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 10-11)
End In Viewi"Yours is the shock", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 12-13)
The Riski"You visit seeking councel, bringing tulips", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 14-15)
Re-Leavingi"Dry-eyed and terrified", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 16-17)
Airbornei"I read Lowell's tumult of poems on age.", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 18)
Waveringi"We weary ourselves with", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 20-21)
Wastingi"Your body carries", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 22-23)
Uphill, Still Climbingi"Into this Midas season", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 24-26)
Toward Clarityi"You know what it's like:", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 27-28)
Perverse Serenityi"This cringing", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 29)
Finalei"You think I forgot", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 32-33)
When Love Goesi"In pain", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 34-35)
Losing Youi"One hungry step took me from you", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 36-37)
Changingi"I stood uncertain among threads twisted at my feet", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 38-39)
After Carringbush Ceilii"This dark is sensuous", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 40-42)
Surviving Singlei"I lie in sluggishly, relishing noise and smell.", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 43-44)
Offerings (for A)i"These rags of language", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 45-46)
Reassessingi"Living alone now", Robyn Rowland , single work poetry (p. 47-48)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Port Melbourne, South Melbourne - Port Melbourne area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Heinemann Australia , 1990 .
      image of person or book cover 8651414628715875808.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 76p.
      Description: illus., map
      Note/s:
      • Includes 'Glossary of Names and Words'.
      ISBN: 9780855613471, 0855613475 (pbk)
    • North Melbourne, Flemington - North Melbourne area, Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,: Spinifex Press , 1992 .
      Extent: 71p.
      Description: illus., map
      Note/s:
      • Includes 'Glossary of Names and Words'.
      ISBN: 1875559132 (pbk), 9781875559138

Works about this Work

Two from Spinifex Tom Bishop , 1994 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 8 no. 1 1994; (p. 69-70)

— Review of Perverse Serenity Robyn Rowland , 1990 selected work poetry ; Sybil : The Glide of Her Tongue Gillian Hanscombe , 1992 selected work poetry
A Wealth of Poetic Devices Do Not, Alas, a Poem Make Jeff Doyle , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 September 1993; (p. C8)

— Review of Sirocco Days Lee Knowles , 1993 selected work poetry ; The Naming of the Harbour and the Trees Christopher Kelen , 1992 selected work poetry ; Sleeve Notes Alex Skovron , 1992 selected work poetry ; The Apple and the Serpent Vera Newsom , 1992 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity Robyn Rowland , 1990 selected work poetry
Vast with Remembering Megan Tasker , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Women's Book Review , September vol. 2 no. 3 1990; (p. 20-21)

— Review of Perverse Serenity Robyn Rowland , 1990 selected work poetry
The Fit between Artifice and Emotion Kevin Brophy , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 120 1990; (p. 31)

— Review of Perverse Serenity Robyn Rowland , 1990 selected work poetry
Interaction of Forms a Cornucopia of Charms Martin Duwell , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8-9 September 1990; (p. rev 6)

— Review of Fingerprints on Light Jan Owen , 1990 selected work poetry ; Australian Things Timoshenko Aslanides , 1990 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity Robyn Rowland , 1990 selected work poetry
Overwhelming Memories of Friendly Street Heather Cam , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10 March 1990; (p. 78)

— Review of Animal Warmth Philip Hodgins , 1990 selected work poetry ; Singing the Snake : Poems from the Western Desert 1979-1988 Billy Marshall-Stoneking , 1990 selected work poetry ; After the War: Poems Lily Brett , 1990 selected work poetry ; Fingerprints on Light Jan Owen , 1990 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity Robyn Rowland , 1990 selected work poetry ; Australian Things Timoshenko Aslanides , 1990 selected work poetry ; Seventy Seven John Bray , 1990 selected work poetry ; Edison Doesn't Invent the Car Steve Evans , 1990 selected work poetry ; The Inner Courtyard : A South Australian Anthology of Love Poetry 1990 anthology poetry ; Friendly Street Poetry Reader : Fourteen 1990 anthology poetry
Four Reasons to Celebrate John Forbes , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Herald , 18 March 1990; (p. 39)

— Review of Singing the Snake : Poems from the Western Desert 1979-1988 Billy Marshall-Stoneking , 1990 selected work poetry ; Australian Things Timoshenko Aslanides , 1990 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity Robyn Rowland , 1990 selected work poetry
Interaction of Forms a Cornucopia of Charms Martin Duwell , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8-9 September 1990; (p. rev 6)

— Review of Fingerprints on Light Jan Owen , 1990 selected work poetry ; Australian Things Timoshenko Aslanides , 1990 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity Robyn Rowland , 1990 selected work poetry
A Wealth of Poetic Devices Do Not, Alas, a Poem Make Jeff Doyle , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 September 1993; (p. C8)

— Review of Sirocco Days Lee Knowles , 1993 selected work poetry ; The Naming of the Harbour and the Trees Christopher Kelen , 1992 selected work poetry ; Sleeve Notes Alex Skovron , 1992 selected work poetry ; The Apple and the Serpent Vera Newsom , 1992 selected work poetry ; Perverse Serenity Robyn Rowland , 1990 selected work poetry
The Fit between Artifice and Emotion Kevin Brophy , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 120 1990; (p. 31)

— Review of Perverse Serenity Robyn Rowland , 1990 selected work poetry
Last amended 6 Apr 2016 07:58:19
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