Vic's post about the "Twenty-Sixth" parallel in another thread, reminded me of a piece by Graham Fredriksen .... He has a 'grand' style of writing in this piece ...
NORTH OF TWENTY-THREE
(c) Graham Fredriksen 1956 - 2010
NORTH OF TWENTY-THREE - Graham Fredriksen
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manfredvijars
NORTH OF TWENTY-THREE - Graham Fredriksen
Last edited by manfredvijars on Wed Jun 08, 2016 11:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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warooa
Re: NORTH OF TWENTY-THREE - Graham Fredriksen
Yes the man knew how to string'em together.
Thanks, Manfred. And also to Graham's family for allowing his wonderful verse to be posted on the site.
Marty
Thanks, Manfred. And also to Graham's family for allowing his wonderful verse to be posted on the site.
Marty
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Vic Jefferies
- Posts: 1041
- Joined: Mon Nov 01, 2010 8:21 am
Re: NORTH OF TWENTY-THREE - Graham Fredriksen
Great poem by a master poet!
I am reading "The Territory," by Ernestine Hill and she mentions Bill Harney's book, North of 23 Degrees which was written some years ago. It was apparently a famous book in its day and I wonder if Graham perhaps had it in mind when he wrote his poem.
Vic Jefferies
I am reading "The Territory," by Ernestine Hill and she mentions Bill Harney's book, North of 23 Degrees which was written some years ago. It was apparently a famous book in its day and I wonder if Graham perhaps had it in mind when he wrote his poem.
Vic Jefferies
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manfredvijars
Re: NORTH OF TWENTY-THREE - Graham Fredriksen
Graham was well read Vic. He has three pages of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...
(and 700 pages of verse)
Here are his "groupings"
“ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS”. Whenever I am asked how long I have been here—at the Ten-mile, northwest of Kilcoy—that’s my answer.
*“TO MUSTER THE HILLS OF HISTORY”....the Poetry and Song of History—that is, historically-based or period writing—could be seen as my forte.
“OPEN YER EYES AN’ YER EARS AN’ YER INFLUENCED”.....to quote US song-writer/poet, Bob Dylan, whose imagery shadows such personal musings.
“MUSIC FOR THE SOUL”.....to borrow from a critique.....“a uniqueness of metre that is magic.....a refreshingly original writer.....his imagination is wide-ranging ....creativity honed with a craftsman’s tools of rhythm and rhyme”.
“A PLACE I REALLY NEED TO GO”....My need to write....that “catharsis for his solitude”....
“A POET CAME TO ME”....“quixotic images....legacy visions....packsaddle gypsy sentences....and whispered to me—and I heard them then—and I sang his song”.
“IT GETS IN YOUR BLOOD”.......I see poetry all around me—the everyday of life.
“FOR ALL THE THINKING WORLD EXTOLLED”.....The Billy Tea & Damper shop in Old Petrie Town:— My first exposure to the public performance of poetry—and to other modern poets—was when I joined the original North Pine Bush Poets in 1996.
“THREE BRONZE SWAGMEN CAME DOWN THE TRACK”....“Battle of St. Quentin Canal”—1998; “Repossession”—2002; “Ballad of Creamy Eclipse”—2006. To win a Bronze Swagman, this country’s highest citation for written verse, is the dream of every contemporary poet.
“HERE, FROM MY CANDLED GARRET”....I am still writing.
*“TO MUSTER THE HILLS OF HISTORY”....the Poetry and Song of History—that is, historically-based or period writing—could be seen as my forte; fact, licensed fact, period fiction, mythology:—the maritime “Phantom of Roebuck Bay”; the immigrants of “Ballad of the John Davies”; trailblazers “North of Twenty-three”; the working class “Heroes”; the wild colonial boys who “Ride Like a Luny”; the explorer’s diary paraphrased in “A Letter from Inside”; the Lawsonesque women, see “Drifter’s Girl”; the convict “Journeys of Billy Rose”; the pioneering journey “Beyond the Farthest Fences”; the “Journey among Men” into war—verse which encompasses not only Australia but the globe, verse as disparate, in theme and in style, as the archaic “Grass Castles”, “Anastasia’s Ride” and “Michael O’Sullivan” to a modern “Bordertown”, “A Million Candles” and the topical “Closing Down”. And I see it my role, as a folklorist, to set such history down for posterity.
Graham Fredriksen 1956-2010
R.I.P Old Mate ...
(and 700 pages of verse)
Here are his "groupings"
“ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS”. Whenever I am asked how long I have been here—at the Ten-mile, northwest of Kilcoy—that’s my answer.
*“TO MUSTER THE HILLS OF HISTORY”....the Poetry and Song of History—that is, historically-based or period writing—could be seen as my forte.
“OPEN YER EYES AN’ YER EARS AN’ YER INFLUENCED”.....to quote US song-writer/poet, Bob Dylan, whose imagery shadows such personal musings.
“MUSIC FOR THE SOUL”.....to borrow from a critique.....“a uniqueness of metre that is magic.....a refreshingly original writer.....his imagination is wide-ranging ....creativity honed with a craftsman’s tools of rhythm and rhyme”.
“A PLACE I REALLY NEED TO GO”....My need to write....that “catharsis for his solitude”....
“A POET CAME TO ME”....“quixotic images....legacy visions....packsaddle gypsy sentences....and whispered to me—and I heard them then—and I sang his song”.
“IT GETS IN YOUR BLOOD”.......I see poetry all around me—the everyday of life.
“FOR ALL THE THINKING WORLD EXTOLLED”.....The Billy Tea & Damper shop in Old Petrie Town:— My first exposure to the public performance of poetry—and to other modern poets—was when I joined the original North Pine Bush Poets in 1996.
“THREE BRONZE SWAGMEN CAME DOWN THE TRACK”....“Battle of St. Quentin Canal”—1998; “Repossession”—2002; “Ballad of Creamy Eclipse”—2006. To win a Bronze Swagman, this country’s highest citation for written verse, is the dream of every contemporary poet.
“HERE, FROM MY CANDLED GARRET”....I am still writing.
*“TO MUSTER THE HILLS OF HISTORY”....the Poetry and Song of History—that is, historically-based or period writing—could be seen as my forte; fact, licensed fact, period fiction, mythology:—the maritime “Phantom of Roebuck Bay”; the immigrants of “Ballad of the John Davies”; trailblazers “North of Twenty-three”; the working class “Heroes”; the wild colonial boys who “Ride Like a Luny”; the explorer’s diary paraphrased in “A Letter from Inside”; the Lawsonesque women, see “Drifter’s Girl”; the convict “Journeys of Billy Rose”; the pioneering journey “Beyond the Farthest Fences”; the “Journey among Men” into war—verse which encompasses not only Australia but the globe, verse as disparate, in theme and in style, as the archaic “Grass Castles”, “Anastasia’s Ride” and “Michael O’Sullivan” to a modern “Bordertown”, “A Million Candles” and the topical “Closing Down”. And I see it my role, as a folklorist, to set such history down for posterity.
Graham Fredriksen 1956-2010
R.I.P Old Mate ...
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Glenny Palmer
- Posts: 1816
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2010 12:47 am
Re: NORTH OF TWENTY-THREE - Graham Fredriksen
How blessed we are to have 700 pages from this master's hand. How cursed we are to never more see new work.
Graham knew my fondness for this particular poem, & to my everlasting delight he performed it during a visit to his group.
Miss you so much old mate.
Glenny
Graham knew my fondness for this particular poem, & to my everlasting delight he performed it during a visit to his group.
Miss you so much old mate.
Glenny
The purpose of my life is to serve as a warning to others.
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Henry Snicklesnorter
Re: NORTH OF TWENTY-THREE - Graham Fredriksen
Masterful work! I've never read anything of his before, but I'll make a point of it now.