Andrew Lansdown

Westerly, the literary magazine published by the Westerly Centre, the University of Western Australia, has published Andrew’s poem, “Elijah and the Ravens”. The poem consists of three dramatic monologues, which have been taken from a longer sequence of 32 dramatic monologues on the Old Testament prophet Elijah. The complete sequence, titled “The God of the [...]

[Read more →]

The latest issue of Island magazine (# 122) contains one of Andrew’s poems, “Disturbance”. The poem can be viewed on Island’s website at http://islandmag.com/122/poetry.html.

[Read more →]

Blue Dog, the journal of the Australian Poetry Centre, has just published Andrew’s poem, “Depressions” (Volume 9, Number 17):
 

Depressions
 
          i
Long ago, women …
the rock-pool rock remembers
their grass-seed grinding.
 
          ii
Grooves in the granite …
the grinders, the grinding stones,
the ground seeds are gone.
 
          iii
Strangely depressing—
these depressions in the stone
from bygone grinding.
 
© Andrew Lansdown, 2010

[Read more →]

Andrew’s poem “In from the Garden” has been published in Dear Dad: Poems by Australians about Fathers, an antholgy published jointly by the Australian Poetry Centre, Relationships Australia and designers/publishers Gracia and Louise.
 Celebrating dads, this attractive alternative to a Fathers’ Day card, includes the best poems about dads from poets across the country, as well as contributions from Premier [...]

[Read more →]

Quadrant magazine published two of Andrew’s poems - “Every Cell” and “Timphony” - in its July-August issue. “Every Cell” is reproduced below:
 

Every Cell
 
While women try to leap it,
the gorge between the genders,
men mostly stand and gape.
O, that gorgeous otherness,
wider than ideology’s lies!
 
Breast, larynx and brain,
hip, heart and thigh—every cell
in every part of every woman
is female, [...]

[Read more →]

The Weekend Australian has published Andrew’s poem, “Kimberley Cattle”. The haiku sequence appeared in the newspaper’s Review magazine on 26-27 June 2010:
 

Kimberley Cattle
 
          i
Low beam, high speed—
the cattle on the highway
too black, too close.
 
          ii
They keep on staring,
the cattle on the road, as
we keep on skidding.
 
          iii
Taking the smells
of burning rubber with us
thanks to the [...]

[Read more →]

The Canberra Times has published Andrew’s poem “Music Haiku”. The haiku sequence appeared in the newspaper on 22 May 2010:
 

Music Haiku
 
i
The jazz drummer—
one wire bent up on the brush
as he scuffs the beat.
 
ii
The jazz soloist—
scatting first with the guitar,
then the saxophone.
 
 
iii
Irish fiddler—
even seated he can’t help
jigging his jig!
 
iv
Celtic vocalist—
between the phrases, that rasp
of her indrawn [...]

[Read more →]

Quadrant magazine has published four of Andrew’s poems in its April 2010 issue. One of the four is a choka titled “Creators” and is reproduced here: 
 

Creators
 
Having created
the bamboo, God created
in His likeness
human beings, and seeing
bamboos growing
they straightaway imagined
xylophones, wind-chimes and flutes!
            © Andrew Lansdown
 
The other three poems an be viewed on Quadrant Online at: http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2010/4 

[Read more →]

Studio magazine has published Andrew’s tanka, “Azure”, in its latest issue (No. 116, 2010):
 

Azure
 
Surely a piece is
missing from the azure robe
of the Madonna
in some ancient mosaic
because of that fairy wren!
 
            © Andrew Lansdown

[Read more →]

Andrew’s poem, “Sighting”, appears in the December issue of Quadrant magazine:
 

Sighting
On visiting the Bull Ranges with a traditional landowner
 
Pluck out the detecting eye,
break off the pointing finger,
shut up the exclaiming cry—
if only somehow I could!
 
But it’s too late to stifle
myself now or stop my friend,
who snatches up his rifle
and follows swiftly after
 
the wallabies I sighted,
the small [...]

[Read more →]

Three new poems by Andrew have just been published in the July-August issue of Quadrant magazine. One of them, posted here, is a gunsaku (haiku sequence):

About Autumn
            i
Liquidambar—
anticipating autumn
with a red leaf.
 
            ii
Liquidambar—
the evergreens envy your
changing colours.
 
            iii
Liquidambar—
educating evergreens
about autumn.
 
© Andrew Landown

[Read more →]

The March 2009 issue of Quadrant magazine contains 4 of Andrew’s poems, including the following choka (a traditional Japanese poetic form):
 

Western Yellow Robin 
 
When the Almighty
spoke yellow-bellied robins
into bright being
and told them to multiply,
he already knew
I would observe this robin,
this gentle-grey bird
too shy to wear its colour
on its petite breast,
this yolk-yellow-under bird
drawn from the forest
by the feather-grey [...]

[Read more →]

The March 2009 issue of Quadrant magazine contains 4 of Andrew’s poems, including the following tanka (a traditional Japanese poetic form):
 

Sheep
 
Only three days since
they were shorn and already
their whiteness is gone.
Still, who of us has managed
even that long in this world?
 
© Andrew Lansdown

[Read more →]

In October (2008) Andrew Burke asked several fellow Western Australian poets, including Andrew Lansdown, to provide a poem-with-comments for his blogsite, Hi Spirits (http://hispirits.blogspot.com/). Andrew L sent Andrew B the poem “Finishing Up”, which Andrew B (confusing, isn’t it!) posted on 22 September 2008. The poem and brief explanatory comments are posted below:
 

Finishing Up 
 
Nightfall … and [...]

[Read more →]