Wild Figments: First Edition

by Michael Leunig

'Went to the opening of the entertainment complex. An entertainment complex is a neurotic condition suffered by people who get depressed if they don't get lots and lots of entertainment. Couldn't get into the oak room, the mahogany room, or the chipboard room, but got into the masonite room where people were betting on two blowflies crawling up a wall. The wall collapsed, so I lost my money. Should have backed the blowflies...'Wild Figments comprises pieces that have previously appeared in the Melbourne Age , the Sydney Morning Herald , Nation Review , or in various stage productions.

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2006

About the author

Michael Leunig, typically referred to as Leunig (his signature on his cartoons), was an Australian cartoonist. His works include The Curly Pyjama Letters, cartoon books The Essential Leunig, The Wayward Leunig, The Stick, Goatperson, Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness and Curly Verse, and The Lot, a compilation of his "Curly World" newspaper columns. Leunig also wrote a book of prayers, When I Talk To You.
He was declared an Australian Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia in 1999.

Reviews

[Mark]

Michael Leunig has an incredible ability to distil the underlying truth and meaning from the events, both ordinary and extraordinary in a way that truly hits home. “an Australian cartoonist, writer, painter, philosopher and poet. His commentary on political, cultural and emotional life spans more than fifty years and has often explored the idea of an innocent and sacred personal world. The fragile ecosystem of human nature and its relationship to the wider natural world is a related and recurrent theme.”

Wild Figments is no exception. It is a series of short verses on many and varied topics all that make me sit up, take notice, reflect and more than often feel slightly uncomfortable. I love that.

I can’t rate this one. Rating doesn’t seem right.