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Cover image courtesy of UQP.
y separately published work icon Typewriter Music selected work   poetry  
  • Author:agent David Malouf http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/malouf-david
Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 Typewriter Music
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'David Malouf's brilliant collection of poems begins with a memory of new love - with 'grace unasked for, urgencies that boom under the pocket of a shirt' - and ends in the intimate territory of the long-familiar where there is no need for words. This volume is marked by an astonishing breadth of intelligence and erudition, yet steps lightly among the objects of our lives and the wonder of everyday replenishments. Everywhere the poems affirm the mystical delights of music, angels and fields where 'first to gather are the starlings in unquiet flocks. Then quietly, the stars'.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Contents

* Contents derived from the St Lucia, Indooroopilly - St Lucia area, Brisbane - North West, Brisbane, Queensland,:University of Queensland Press , 2007 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Revolving Daysi"That year I had nowhere to go, I fell in love - a mistake", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 1)
Out of Sighti"Painting the walls yellow was one way", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 2)
Moonflowersi"Gone and not gone. Is this", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 3-4)
First Nighti"A high dry attic room under warped pine-shingles.", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 5)
Like Yesterdayi"Always longer ago than we remember:", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 6)
Funeral Gamesi"These contests celebrate", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 7)
As It Comesi"Morning gets into its stride", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 8)
Roofs Roovesi"Patter of rain on the roof,", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 9)
Rain Poems, David Malouf , sequence poetry (p. 9-11)
Watertanksi"Squat corrugated-iron", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 10-11)
Typewriter Musici"Hinged grasshopper legs kick", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 12)
Recalledi"Dew-touched guy ropes tauten", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 13)
Flightsi"Late hammering from the forge. The sparks go out", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 14-17)
Millenniumi"The fire that starts in a dusty text in one part of the globe", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 18-19)
Like Our First Paintboxi"Like our first paintbox: colour", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 20)
Poetry Makes Nothing Happeni"Silvery spellbound", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 21)
At the Ferryi"A light as of axe-handles", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 22)
Reading Late at Campagnaticoi"A lighted room high up", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 23)
Makingi"That a man should wonder", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 24)
Last Words of the Emperor Hadrian Seven Last Words of the Emperor Hadrian Animulai"Dear soul-mate, little guest", David Malouf , single work poetry (p. 25-28)
Note: With title: Seven Last Words of the Emperor Hadrian.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

'The Whole Landscape Dazzling and Shrilling' : Soundscapes of War and Peace in David Malouf's Fly Away Peter Fiona Richards , 2016 single work criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 75 no. 3 2016; (p. 155-168)
Appreciating David Malouf As Poet Jim Tulip , 2014 single work
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 2 2014;
'This personal reading of David Malouf's poetry during fifty years ranges from his earliest dramatic lyrics through his European-Australian comparisons to the time in the 1970s when novel writing became his dominant concern. It then touches on Malouf's response to the cultural and intellectual changes of the 1970s, and finally returns to his recent rewarding philosophic style of lyrical reflection. The paper argues for sustained poetic interest and concerns within Malouf's writing.' (Publication abstract)
Silence and Poetic Inwardness in the Writings of David Malouf Dennis Haskell , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 2 2014;

'James Tulip's argument that David Malouf's ‘achievement is essentially that of a poet’ seems cogent, not only because of Malouf's lifelong commitment to poetry but because his novellas (and at least sections of his novels) might be read as long prose poems. These novellas do contain narratives but they are not driven by narrative. Nor are they most notable in the Modernist way as character studies; the novellas' characters do not engage in extensive social interaction. Rather, as individuals they engage in ideas, in existential contemplations of the self meeting a rich but complex universe. Dante always seems very separate from Johnno; Ovid is in exile; the terrorist in 'Child's Play' hardly talks to his colleagues. In fact, in their climaxes the main characters turn away from the possibilities of social interaction to achieve a state of equanimity in silence: the terrorist walking under apple blossom, Ovid as he steps into ‘clear sunlight’, Carney cleansing himself in the stream and Adair eating bread in an ‘outpouring’ of early morning light. In this retreat they resemble to some extent Horace on his Sabine farm, Montaigne on his Bordeaux estate, and Voltaire at Ferney – the tradition that Malouf describes in his essay on ‘The Happy Life’. Malouf's characters may be seen in opposition to contemporary society's ‘fear of inactivity, of stillness; most of all of the withdrawal of every form of chatter or noise in an extended and unendurable silence’. Adair wonders whether ‘what we are really committed to in our hearts is an unceasing motion’.

'It is poets who have found value in silence and recollections of tranquillity; Keats's sweeter ‘unheard music’ represented a silence that was a kind of perfection, not just the absence of noise, and the French Symbolistes were intent on finding it. Malouf's characters differ from Horace, Montaigne and Voltaire in that they stumble on silence or have it thrust upon them. However, this does not reduce the meaningfulness of the silence they experience. Malouf is neither a classical figure, a Renaissance humanist, nor a man of the Englightenment, although his writing evinces some empathy with all three. He is a modern figure who thinks our world and us ‘an accident’ so that we must find meaning where we can. His characters seem to find that meaning outside fictive realism in a mystical equanimity discovered only through a personal retreat and silence that is at odds with the contemporary world and its attitudes. This paper seeks to explore that process as presented in Malouf's prose and poetry.' (Publication abstract)

Threads Marcia Jacobs , 2011 single work essay
— Appears in: Singing for All He's Worth : Essays in Honour of Jacob G. Rosenberg 2011; (p. 219-241)
Tuning into the Sound of Imagination : David Malouf's Typewriter Music Antonella Riem Natale , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Drops of Light Coalescing : Studies for Maria Teresa Bindella 2010; (p. 211-222)
'An in-depth analysis of the archetypal and metaphysical connection in David Malouf's Typewriter Music, between word, rhythm and imagination as manifestation of Being - or the Goddess, the Spiritual energy manifested in the universe. The use of the word, as always in Malouf, shows how the power of imagination embodied in the sound and rhythm of small everyday things, opens up a whole transcendent universe to the reader. Language in Malouf is a multifaceted, sensuous and tentacular medium that originates from a deep contact between things and peoples. Malouf's language gives voice, form and body to what is immaterial, to the spirit inherent in matter.' (283)
[Review] Typewriter Music Andrew Wilkins , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , April/May vol. 86 no. 8 2007; (p. 38)

— Review of Typewriter Music David Malouf , 2007 selected work poetry
The Master Craftsman Luke Davies , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 2 June 2007; (p. 21)

— Review of Typewriter Music David Malouf , 2007 selected work poetry
Lines That Strike an Authentic Note Bernard Lane , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2-3 June 2007; (p. 13)

— Review of Typewriter Music David Malouf , 2007 selected work poetry
Strange Depths in Ordinary Speech A. P. Riemer , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2-3 June 2007; (p. 32-33)

— Review of Typewriter Music David Malouf , 2007 selected work poetry
'Suspended on a Breath' Peter Porter , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June no. 292 2007; (p. 12-13)

— Review of Typewriter Music David Malouf , 2007 selected work poetry
Books : Peter Pierce Peter Pierce , 2007-2008 single work column
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 18 December - 8 January vol. 125 no. 6600 2007-2008; (p. 145)
Short impressions of books read by the author.
Thrill of the Quill Frances Whiting , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 28 - 29 August 2010; (p. 26-30)
'Poetry is not dead. It's simply found a life beyond the bookshelf - in pubs, clubs, living rooms and online magazines.' (p. 26)
Tuning into the Sound of Imagination : David Malouf's Typewriter Music Antonella Riem Natale , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Drops of Light Coalescing : Studies for Maria Teresa Bindella 2010; (p. 211-222)
'An in-depth analysis of the archetypal and metaphysical connection in David Malouf's Typewriter Music, between word, rhythm and imagination as manifestation of Being - or the Goddess, the Spiritual energy manifested in the universe. The use of the word, as always in Malouf, shows how the power of imagination embodied in the sound and rhythm of small everyday things, opens up a whole transcendent universe to the reader. Language in Malouf is a multifaceted, sensuous and tentacular medium that originates from a deep contact between things and peoples. Malouf's language gives voice, form and body to what is immaterial, to the spirit inherent in matter.' (283)
Threads Marcia Jacobs , 2011 single work essay
— Appears in: Singing for All He's Worth : Essays in Honour of Jacob G. Rosenberg 2011; (p. 219-241)
Silence and Poetic Inwardness in the Writings of David Malouf Dennis Haskell , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 2 2014;

'James Tulip's argument that David Malouf's ‘achievement is essentially that of a poet’ seems cogent, not only because of Malouf's lifelong commitment to poetry but because his novellas (and at least sections of his novels) might be read as long prose poems. These novellas do contain narratives but they are not driven by narrative. Nor are they most notable in the Modernist way as character studies; the novellas' characters do not engage in extensive social interaction. Rather, as individuals they engage in ideas, in existential contemplations of the self meeting a rich but complex universe. Dante always seems very separate from Johnno; Ovid is in exile; the terrorist in 'Child's Play' hardly talks to his colleagues. In fact, in their climaxes the main characters turn away from the possibilities of social interaction to achieve a state of equanimity in silence: the terrorist walking under apple blossom, Ovid as he steps into ‘clear sunlight’, Carney cleansing himself in the stream and Adair eating bread in an ‘outpouring’ of early morning light. In this retreat they resemble to some extent Horace on his Sabine farm, Montaigne on his Bordeaux estate, and Voltaire at Ferney – the tradition that Malouf describes in his essay on ‘The Happy Life’. Malouf's characters may be seen in opposition to contemporary society's ‘fear of inactivity, of stillness; most of all of the withdrawal of every form of chatter or noise in an extended and unendurable silence’. Adair wonders whether ‘what we are really committed to in our hearts is an unceasing motion’.

'It is poets who have found value in silence and recollections of tranquillity; Keats's sweeter ‘unheard music’ represented a silence that was a kind of perfection, not just the absence of noise, and the French Symbolistes were intent on finding it. Malouf's characters differ from Horace, Montaigne and Voltaire in that they stumble on silence or have it thrust upon them. However, this does not reduce the meaningfulness of the silence they experience. Malouf is neither a classical figure, a Renaissance humanist, nor a man of the Englightenment, although his writing evinces some empathy with all three. He is a modern figure who thinks our world and us ‘an accident’ so that we must find meaning where we can. His characters seem to find that meaning outside fictive realism in a mystical equanimity discovered only through a personal retreat and silence that is at odds with the contemporary world and its attitudes. This paper seeks to explore that process as presented in Malouf's prose and poetry.' (Publication abstract)

Last amended 12 May 2014 16:18:16
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