Beauties of the Octagonal Pool

O'Brien, Gregory

ISBN 10: 186940579X / ISBN 13: 9781869405793

Published by Auckland University Press, New Zealand, 2012

About this Item

Auckland University Press, New Zealand, 2012. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 228 x 164 mm. Language: English Brand New Book. Gregory O Brien s first collection of poems since Afternoon of an Evening Train (2005), Beauties of the Octagonal Pool is centred on the octagonal pool of the Waitemata Harbour. In an eight-armed embrace, Beauties of the Octagonal Pool collects poems written from and out of a variety of times, locations and experiences, from the water-frontages of Fiji, Fiordland and the Mediterranean to the built history of Moscow and Berlin. Gregory O Brien s poems here - his first collection for seven years - have a thoughtful musicality, a shambling romance, a sense of humour, an eye on the horizon. And in the background, a soft directional chant of possibility: north, northwest, south, southeast, west, southwest, east, northeast. On Raoul Island there is a mechanical rat; in Moscow we encounter a black negligee and an ice-cream vendor; in Sault, a mayor and the Mistral; on Waiheke, the horses of memory thunder down the course; and in Doubtful Sound, the first guitar music heard in New Zealand spills over the waves. A gazing ball, an infinity pool, an endless sea, an organic compass, a contrapuntal spring, a glorious parrot, a bounded harbour - the octagonal pool might reflect where we ve been to, or where we are going. This is a good place to be marooned.

Seller Inventory # 049324

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Beauties of the Octagonal Pool
• Publisher: Auckland University Press, New Zealand
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 186940579X
• ISBN 13: 9781869405793
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: New
• Seller catalogs:
  • Aotearoa, New Zealand
  • Poetry

About this title

Synopsis

Making unexpected connections, this book collects poems written from a variety of times, locations, and experiences—from the water frontage of Fiji, Fiordland, and the Mediterranean to the built history of Moscow and Berlin. Filled with a thoughtful musicality, a shambling romance, and a sense of humor, these witty and imaginative poems tell stories that range from a mechanical rat on Raoul Island to a black negligée and an ice-cream vendor in Moscow, and from a mayor and the Mistral in France to a new musical sound in New Zealand. Engaging and lively, this compilation highlights the persistent self-consciousness about the relationship between language and the world.

About the Author

Gregory O'Brien is a writer, a poet, a painter, and a contributing editor to the literary annual, Fulcrum. He is the author of Back and Beyond, A Nest of Singing Birds, and Welcome to the South Seas. He is also the recipient of the New Zealand Post Book Award for Children and Young Adults and the Elsie Locke Award.