Eucalypt: A Tanka Journal (Issue 29, 2020) has published one of Andrew’s tanka. Andrew has titled it “Evocations”, although it was published without a title in Eucalypt, and without an opening capital or closing full-stop. It is reproduced below in the house style of the magazine:
unlikeliest things
can ignite or inflame grief …
today the bamboo’s
swollen knuckles remind me
of my dead mother’s dear hands
© Andrew Lansdown
Westerly magazine published one of Andrew’s poems, “Dip”, in issue 65.1, 2020.
Although “Dip” is written in free form, it nonetheless employs (as is the case with many of Andrew’s poems) a one-off, self-imposed syllabic metre.
It consists of a single descriptive statement that unfolds in four-syllable lines arranged in six couplets, each couplet loosely embodying a conceptual unit.
Each line is enjambed, four of them in such a way as to break a word mid-syllable or mid-compound.
The poem employs alliteration, moving from “d” to “p” and “g” sounds.
It attempts to capture in a single, succinct sweep an image, a scene, Andrew saw in Kyoto, Japan.
Dip
A little dip
in the broad rimdirects the brim-
ming rainwaterwhere to over-
flow, gliding slowor quick in drib-
ble, drip or drop,from the wide cup
of the level-standing garden
granite basin.© Andrew Lansdown
“Dip” is included in Andrew’s latest collection, Abundance: New and Selected Poems, published in December 2020 in the USA by Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Quadrant magazine has published three of Andrew’s poem in its November 2020 issue:
“Windbell”, 3-haiku gunsaku (or, series);
“The Homecoming”, a 2-tanka gunsaku;
and “Canada Geese Near Canada”, a 4-tanka gunsaku.
The first two tanka of “Canada Geese Near Canada” are:
. .1
A spearhead of geese,
fixed on the shaft of instinct,
and hurled by autumn—
how swiftly and straight it flies
south in the threatening skies!. .2
Again, skeins of geese
cross the Wisconsin border,
wearing the sky’s fleece.
And whose heart doesn’t shiver
for want of a warmer winter?© Andrew Lansdown
“Canada Geese Near Canada” is included in Andrew’s latest collection, Abundance: New and Selected Poems, published in December 2020 in the USA by Wipf and Stock Publishers.
The April 2020 issue of Quadrant contains 4 of Andrew’s poems: “Loss”, “Apprehension”, “The Lotus Pod Innovations”, and “Unleafed Weeping Cherry”.
“Loss” is a villanelle; “The Lotus Pod Innovations” is a 3-tanka gunsaku; “Unleafed Weeping Cherry” is a 2-tanka gunsaku; and “Apprehension” is written in rhyming couplets.
Apprehension
As we amble in autumn in Nara Park,
where cherries and gingkoes are turning starkand stags scent the heat of hinds on the breeze,
my soul apprehends as my sight perceivesthe heart-shaped leaves of the Chinese tallows,
crimson as blood from the Man of Sorrows.© Andrew Lansdown
“Apprehension” is included in Andrew’s latest collection, Abundance: New and Selected Poems, published in December 2020 in the USA by Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Eucalypt: A Tanka Journal (Issue 28, 2020) has published one of Andrew’s tanka. It is reproduced below in the house style of the magazine:
in the darkness
lifting a piece of kindling
from the woodpile—
that appalling gummy sound
of a redback’s web, ripping© Andrew Lansdown
Shane McCauley’s poems have long graced Andrew’s website, and can be read here. He is a superb Western Australian poet and has been practising and refining his craft for four decades. He is an erudite poet (his poetry itself offers a glimpse of the breadth of his reading and study)—and he is a generous one, helping other poets launch their books, editing and reviewing poetry collections by other poets, and sharing his love and knowledge of poetry with students in his long-running poetry workshops.
Shane’s most recent book, his ninth, is Sweeping Away the Mandala, published by Sunline Press. Poet Kevin Gillam’s observation about Shane’s previous book, Trickster, certainly applies to this one: “This is inventive an purposeful writing from a master of the craft.”
There is such variety in subject, theme and tone in this collection that it is impossible to quote several poems as indicative of the collection. Nonetheless, for a taste, consider the following two (and afterwards, buy the book from Sunline Press):
THE YEAR OF THE MONKEY
I thought of a ghost monkey—
a cymbal-banging monkey
that was a first birthday gift.
Lone gone, but I still mistily recall
the small triangular key in his back.
A few twists to prime him
into a clatter of miniature percussion.
On his head a red hat like Big Ears.
Why just now should I hear him
applauding down the long years?© Shane McCauley
ODE TO THE HILLS HOIST
Now that you are
(much) older I have
to crank harder
to elevate the sheets
into the whipcrack wind
to see them floating
like flags like smiles
like great handkerchiefs
like signals like icebergs
like abandonment itself
the hoist flexing
metal muscle
an Olympian
famous Australian
athlete of the backyard
silver simplicity
decorated for the neighbours
to see
old towels blouses cobweb
underpants mismatched or
lonely socks
an accumulation of apparel
unparalleled
beneath the whitest light
the washing now done
and gleaming beneath
an Antipodean sun.© Shane McCauley
Andrews poetry collection, Distillations of Different Lands, was reviewed by Paul Grover in Studio magazine, Number 149, 2020. The review begins:
Andrew Lansdown’s new book of poems is a heartfelt journey into lands beyond and within. This is Andrew’s fifteenth book of poetry. Studio has published four of his poetry books, Abiding Things – poems, stories, essays, Allsorts – poetry tricks and treats and both his stunning Japanese photographs and poetry books. In this new collection the titles of the four parts of the book convey the breadth and depth of these poetic journeys: Heartland, Japan, Homeland, America. The title of the opening poem in Heartland, ‘Sketches of Life’, captures the spirit of this collection, as Andrew explores with raw emotion the playful joy and innocence of young grandchildren, the scraped-back pain from the death of his younger brother, and the depths of intimacy in love, birth and family. …
Continue reading Paul Grover’s review here.
Andrews fantasy trilogy, The Chronicles of Klarin, was reviewed by Ian Keast in Studio magazine, Number 148, 2020. The review begins:
One of my earliest memories of childhood is my father reading The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis to me. Favourite sections were read, again and again. So began a lifelong interest in the genre of fantasy.
Andrew Lansdown is a familiar name to Studio readers. We associate him as the poet whose writing has graced the pages of this journal for many years. What is not as well known is that he has written three fantasy novels: With My Knife (1992); Dragonfox (1997); The Red Dragon (2006); and now they have been republished in this trilogy, The Chronicles of Klarin. Having read them as separate novels when they were published, it is a great pleasure to re-read the trilogy. Like all worthwhile fantasy, they offer much from re-reading their rich imaginative worlds.
In 2001, Lansdown published an essay, In Defence of Fantasy. As the title suggests, he wanted to present a lucid defence of the integrity of the genre. After all, as he states, it has seen notable practitioners—C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and George MacDonald—to name a few. Fantasy is defined as, extraordinary and remarkable. Fantasy stories go beyond everyday realities and may often transcend the laws of nature. They portray things that do not normally happen and worlds that do not actually exist … It is the unexplained, unembarrassed presentation of the extraordinary that separates fantasy from all other types of literature … Yet while fantasy writing depicts the extraordinary, it also celebrates much that is ordinary: trees, stones, horses, hearth-fires, bread—all somehow become solid and important in fantasy writing …
This quotation serves to introduce us to The Chronicles of Klarin. There the “extraordinary” and “remarkable” abound—dragons, other worlds, dragonettes, foxes and the like, appear across the pages. The “ordinary”, both in setting and many of the characters is alongside. And this mix is driven along by a strong, taut, and thoughtful narrative. …
Continue reading Ian Keast’s review here.
Over 2020, Andrew had seven poems published in six issues of The Mozzie.
In Vol. 27, Issue 9, March 2020 – “Saga Chrysanthemums” (a set of 4 tanka).
In Vol. 27, Issue 10, May 2020 – “Kilter” (a set of 3 haiku).
In Vol. 28, Issue 1, June 2020 – “Sandbathing Sparrows” (a set of 2 tanka).
In Vol. 28, Issue 2, July 2020 – “The Martyred Mother”.
In Vol. 28, Issue 3, August 2020 – “Durable Impressions” (a set of 3 haiku).
In Vol. 28, Issue 3, August 2020 – “Leafy Seadragon”.
In Vol. 28, Issue 4, September 2020 – “Little Endings” (a set of 6 haiku).
The poem “Sandbathing Sparrows” (below) is a gunsaku of two tanka that were published individually in Andrew’s book, Kyoto Momiji Tanka: Poems and Photographs of Japan in Autumn. (Go here for information about Kyoto Momiji Tanka.)
Sandbathing Sparrows
By the Kamo River, Kyoto
. .1
Sprawl
The sparrows sprawling
on their sides, kicking their legs,
fluffing their feathers,
are miming the meaning of ‘Nice’
while sandblasting away their lice!. .2
Surrender
Washing their plumage
in a patch of river-rinsed sand,
the sparrows give them-
selves over to feelings of bliss,
as do we, to be watching this.© Andrew Lansdown
Studio magazine published three of Andrew’s poems in issue Number 148, 2020: “Little Endings” (a suite of 6 haiku), “Autumn Maples” (a suite of 2 tanka), and “Separation” (a suite of 2 tanka).
“Little Endings”, a set of 6 light-hearted haiku, will be included in a forthcoming collection of Andrew’s poems. It reads:
Little Endings
. .i
The spider’s mistake—
as it approached it set me
doing the quick-step!. .ii
Worse for the snail—
hearing while night-walking that
unexpected crunch!. .iii
My condolences,
grasshopper, for hopping into
my son’s affections.. .iv
Howzat! The blowfly
scored a triple twenty on
the spider’s dartboard!. .v
A grim irony—
aiming at a spider with
a can of fly-spray.. .vi
Feeling a bit flat—
mosquito meditating
on a clapping sound.© Andrew Lansdown