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Hello, my name’s Adrian Robinson and I’m going to read three poems today. Two of them come from my book which was published by Five Islands Press in 2007. That book was called The Slow Country. The first poem is called “Fat”.
Fat
Joseph Beuys
understood well
the curative properties
of felt and fat
he once spent
a whole week
in a room with
a Siberian wolf
and called it art
at night
its coarse fur
kept him from
freezing in the
empty gallery
he recalled
an earlier time
shot down,
cocooned in the
arctic blitz
the shaman
half whispering
maintaining
a constant
body temperature
the women
applying more fat
in equal proportions
to the sun.
Foetal
You’re foetal,
here, at the edge
of sleep,
distanced
from this night
of the senses,
even the leaves
are quiet
their longing
will not
go unnoticed.
Nullabor
The desert preacher rides into town with his sideshow of tricks and mirrors
all guns firing, his faith burns into the thirsty ground
‘is there anyone here with sorrow in their heart?’ he asks the phlegmatic crowd.
‘Come forward and receive the gifts of the Lord.’
The Dogger looks down then makes his way to the front.
Just last week he’d taken out the whole defenceless pack
with bait and a round of bullets
chased them across the paddocks cursing every pothole
later he’d hung up the hides on the perimeter fence
What for? To teach ‘em a lesson? To ward off evil?
Nah, just ’cause it felt good to see them swinging in the wind
clouds of flies about their heads
The hum of the diesel generator in the distance.
ABOUT ADRIAN ROBINSON:
Adrian Robinson has published poetry in many of the major Australian journals. He completed an MA in Creative Writing at Sydney University in 2009. He grew up in Adelaide and moved to NSW in 2004. He lives in Sydney but is not from there.
“My book was launched at Varuna in 2007 as part of the New Poets Series 12. I have attended readings and launches at Varuna.” Adrian Robinson
PUBLICATIONS:
2007 ‘the slow country’ published by Five Islands Press. A variety of poems published in the following journals; Southerly, Meanjin, Antipodes, Famous Reporter, Blue Dog and The Weekend Australian.
CONTACT:
via Varuna only
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The thought of spending a week with a Siberian Wolf is very appealing. Thank you Adrian