Andrew Lansdown

Andrew’s fantasy novel, The Red Dragon, has won the Hoffman Award, which is part of the West Australian Young Readers Book Award (WAYRBA).

     WAYRBA is a readers’ choice award, organised on a statewide basis for young readers. The Award has two broad categories: Younger Readers and Older Readers. Children and youths are invited to nominate, through their libraries, recently published books of fiction that they have enjoyed. These nominations are then considered by the WAYRBA committee and the two lists are drawn up. Young people are then asked to read titles on the lists and evaluate them as ”terrific”, “good”, “okay” or “awful”. (Information taken from the WAYBRA website: http://www.wayrba.iinet.net.au.)

     The Hoffman Award is given to the highest ranked Australian/Western Australian book on the young readers’ list. This year, thanks to the “terrific” votes of West Australian young readers, the Hoffman Award has been given to The Red Dragon!

     Andrew accepted the award in person, and gave a reading from The Red Dragon, at the WAYRBA Awards Presentation Night at the Subiaco Theatre on Friday 24th October.

     The Red Dragon is published by Omnibus Books/Scholastic Australia and is the third novel in the Chronicles of Klarin trilogy. The other novels are With My Knife and Dragonfox. 

The respected Western Australian poet, Andrew Burke, has published Andrew’s poem, “Finishing Up” on his website, Hi Spirits. Andrew (Lansdown!) has written some background comments to accompany the poem.

You can read the poem and comments at: http://hispirits.blogspot.com/search/label/Lansdown

Zest, the online magazine of the Australian Poetry Centre, has published an article by Andrew titled “Reading and Reflecting on Haiku”.

The article can be accessed at: http://www.australianpoetrycentre.org.au/?page_id=222&print=true

(Note: To scroll through the article, tap on the small arrow at the bottom of the vertical grey line two-thirds the way across the screen.)

A girl from my girl

and her love … A new human

being has become …

So becoming—this person

who soon will call me “Grandpa!”

© Andrew Lansdown

Published in Quadrant, October 2008

Picaro Press has just released the new edition of Andrew’s 1987 poetry collection, Waking and Always.

The book is published as part of Picaro Press’s Art Box Series, which “aims to provide low-cost access to significant Australian poetry titles which, for whatever reason, are no longer generally available to the public.”

The new edition of Waking and Always can be ordered through this website (download an order form) or through the publisher’s website at: www.picaropress.com. RRP $15.00.

            i

Might as well tow

a bright sign as that high sound,

doomed mosquito!

            ii

A round of applause

for the mozzie skywriting with

sound instead of smoke!

            iii

Off and on all night,

a miniature winged syringe

disturbing my dreams.

            iv

Ha, that mosquito

just heard the mystical sound

of two hands clapping!

            v

I’m the only one

here—so it must be my blood

in the mosquito!

© Andrew Lansdown

Published in The Weekend Autralian, ”Review”, 26-27 July 2008

Five of Andrew’s poems and two of his stories have been included in the newly released anthology, Grow: Under the Southern Cross, edited by Lyn Hurry and Anne Hamilton, with illustrations by Rowena Evans. The anthology contains poems, stories and activities for children and young teenagers by various Australian and New Zealand writers. It is especially suited for classroom and homeschool use.

     The book also comes with a CD that contains readings of ten poems and eight stories. One of Andrew’s poems and one of his stories are included on the CD.

     Copies of Grow: Under the Southern Cross can be purchased for $29.95 from Writerlynks GROW Magazine, P.O. Box 603, Kenmore, Qld 4069. For further information, email growmag@bigpond.com.

ABC Radio National recently broacast a two-part series on “Australian Haiku”. Described as “A detailed exploration of this burgeoning poetic form with some of Australia’s leading practitioners”, the series was produced by Ron Sims for Radio National’s Poetica program.

     Twenty-six of Andrew’s haiku, along with excerpts of an interview he did with Ron Simms, were included in the series.

     “Australian Haiku - Part 1″ was broadcast on Saturday 21 June and again on Thursday 26 June. “Australian Haiku - Part 2″ was broacast on Saturday 28 June and again on Thursday 3 July. Both parts of “Australian Haiku” can be heard on the ABC’s website at: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/poetica/.

Andrew’s fantasy novel, With My Knife, has gone into an eighth print run. Omnibus Books (an imprint of Scholastic Australia) reissued the book at the end of May 2008.

     With My Knife is the first novel in the trilogy, The Chronicles of Klarin. The other two novels (which have also gone into additional print runs) are: Dragonfox and The Red Dragon.

Picaro Press has undertaken to published a new edition of Andrew’s 1987 poetry collection, Waking and Always.

     Apart from minor revisions to several poems, the new edition will be the same in content as the original edition.

     The new edition of Waking and Always will be published in Picaro Press’s Art Box Series.

     According to the publisher, “The Art Box Series aims to provide low-cost access to significant Australian poetry titles which, for whatever reason, are no longer generally available to the public.”

     Advance orders for Waking and Always can be placed through this website (download an order form) or through the publisher’s website at: www.picaropress.com. RRP $15.00.

Andrew was invited to address the Society of Women Writers (WA) in Perth on Tuesday 20th May 2008. He spoke about his writings and read from The Dispossessed, Fontanelle, Between Glances and Waking and Always.

Andrew is among 12 leading Western Australian poets to have his work represented on large free-standing panels by the City of South Perth in its new Poetry Park.

     The impetus for the Poetry Park came from Dr Ken Spillman, who conceived of it as a way to acknowledge and acclaim the work of Western Austalian poets.

     The dozen poets whose work was chosen for the panels lining the “Walk of Honour” in the park are all winners of the WA Premier’s Book Awards. Andrew won the Award in 1982 and 1985.

     Situated in the Neil McDougal Park, Como, the Poetry Park was opened by the Mayor of the City of South Perth on Thursday 15th May 2008.

     The poem printed on Andrew’s panel in the Poetry Park is “Happiness”, which is taken from his award-winning collection, Between Glances (William Heinemann Australia, 1993). It reads:

Happiness

A small green bird is hopping
up the grey trunk of a river gum.
The tree leans toward the water.
A duck floats on its reflection.

The climbing bird knocks a fleck
of bark into the water. The duck
inspects it then paddles away.
The Chinese poet Tu Fu wrote,

“After the laws of their being
all creatures pursue happiness.”
Watching the birds, the dragon-
flies, it occurs to me that Fu

is quite wrong. Apart from man,
all creatures simply are happy.
No duck ends the day with regret.
We alone aspire to something

Other. And we alone fall short.

 

© Andrew Lansdown

Published in May 2008
on a two-meter high free-standing panel
in the South Perth Poetry Park
(situated in the Neil McDougal Park, Como, WA)

See DOWNLOADS (top of page) for a PDF of the full-size panel bearing the poem.

Waking unwell,
wondering how I will cope
with a new day,
I glance out the window to
see a thornbill
hopping lightly in the twigs
of a wandoo—
and it flits into my mind
to set that bird
in a poem, catch it in words
as a distraction from pain.

 
© Andrew Lansdown
Published in Studio, No. 108, 2008

A cup on a cross-
beam in the carport,

a grass cup covered
with a cobweb gauze—

the nest some goodness
has filled to the brim

with wagtail hatchlings
that lift wobbling heads

above the low rim
and gape with gladness

each time their parents
return with insects,

not to mention twit-
chings and chatterings!

© Andrew Lansdown
Published in Island, No. 112, Autumn 2008