Cirrus

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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

In this stunning, visionary collection, A. Frances Johnson offers cautionary threnodies that muse on environment and the endurance of theme park notions of the natural, in spheres poetic and beyond. This is a richly varied collection: among moving lyrics of loss are dystopian visions, such as the last living bird with its wings and vocal chords sludged by the oily depredations of Exxon Valdez, hummingbird drones indiscriminately raiding and killing, and hybrid bird-humans blurring the boundaries between nature and culture to survive.

Notes

The collection is divided into three parts: Part 1 'Wind-Up Future' (13-29), Part 2 'Wind-Up Present' (33-54), Part 3 'Wind-Up Past' (57-78).
Dedication: For Roma. Tom and Anthony.
Epigraph: the poet vanished, in the vanished forest, among his brightly tinted extinct birds.. Judith Wright 'Extinct Birds'
Epigraph: Why not write a poem about the wind-up bird? The idea struck me but the first line wouldn't come. Haruki Murakami, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

* Contents derived from the Glebe, Hobart City, Central Hobart, Hobart, Southeast Tasmania, Tasmania,:Puncher and Wattmann , 2012 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.

Hummingbird Drone"Open the cage now", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 13)

Hatchery"In the microaviary", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 13-15)

Microaviary, A. Frances Johnson , sequence poetry (p. 13-16)

Raven Drone"Troops toss Raven drones", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 15-16)

Hummingbird Versus Raven"The Next month the Hummingbird and then the Raven went AWOL", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 16)

Softened Cities"In the west, New York was suddenly pure confection", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 17)

Pajero Future"We thought ourselves smart as bombs", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 18)

Remote"Each night I orbit with you", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 19-20)

Coal and Water"Now the last line won't irrigate", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 21-22)

Listen Century"Listen to the dead", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 23-24)

Note: I will listen with all the silence this world can bear. Judy Johnson

Bethlehem"In the years coming after there was nothing", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 25)

The Rain-Catchers"Once every ten years it will rain briefly", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 26)

Future Ark"You pace the deck, a bead-worried pilgrim", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 27-28)

The Last Bird"If I was the last bird", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 29)

The Will of Birds"I climb the grey stone stairs", A. Frances Johnson , extract poetry (p. 33)

Gang-Gang: Callocephalon Fimbriatum"By afternoon, they have ploughed the dead fields", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 34)

Fontanelle"Not a complicated rhyme scheme like a villanelle", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 35)

Note: Dedication: For Grace

Fall"I practised falling early on:", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 36-37)

Hawk"In showman’s claws", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 40-41)

Two Definitions of Softness"O great galah", A. Frances Johnson , single work poetry (p. 42)

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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

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Song of the Wind-up Birdman Susie Utting , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , October vol. 17 no. 2 2013;
— Review of The Wind-Up Birdman of Moorabool Street A. Frances Johnson , 2012 selected work poetry

A. Frances Johnson : The Wind-up Birdman of Moorabool Street Martin Duwell , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Poetry Review , vol. 7 no. 2012;
— Review of The Wind-Up Birdman of Moorabool Street A. Frances Johnson , 2012 selected work poetry