Judith Wright: Collected Poems 1942-1985

by Judith A. Wright

This definitive collection represents the impressive poetic achievement of one of Australia's most highly respected and valued poets. Judith Wright's "Collected Poems" is comprised of her work from 1942 to 1985, and includes her latest three books of poetry, "Alive", "Fourth Quarter" and "Phantom Dwelling". It is a fitting tribute to an outstanding poet. Whether she is read for her rich evocation of the Australian land, for the truth, sensitivity and profundity of her meditations on the great themes of love, death and eternity, or for the beauty of her lyric style, Judith Wright is always supremely rewarding.

Genres: Poetry, Australia, 20th Century

436 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Judith Wright was probably Australia's greatest poet; she was also an ardent conservationist and activist. She died in 2000, at the age of 85.

Over a long and distinguished literary career, she published poetry, children's books, literary essays, biographies, histories and other works of non-fiction.

Her commitment to the Great Barrier Reef began in 1962, when she helped found the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland. She went on to become a member of the Committee of Enquiry into the National Estate and life member of the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Judith Wright worked tirelessly to promote land rights for Aboriginal people and to raise awareness among non-Aboriginal Australians of their plight arising from the legacy of European settlement. She has written The Cry for the Dead (1981), We Call for a Treaty (1985) and Born of the Conquerors (1991).

Judith Wright was awarded many honours for her writing, including the Grace Leven Award (twice), the New South Wales Premier's Prize, the Encyclopedia Britannica Prize for Literature, and the ASAN World Prize for Poetry. She has received honorary degrees (D.Litt.) from the Universities of New England, Sydney Monash, Melbourne, Griffith and New South Wales and the Australian National University. In 1994 she received the Human Rights Commission Award for Collected Poems.

Reviews

[David Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE TRAINS ** By: Judith A. Wright

Tunnelling through the night, the trains pass
in a splendour of power, with a sound like thunder
shaking the orchards, waking
the young from a dream, scattering like glass
the old mens' sleep, laying
a black trail over the still bloom of the orchards;
the trains go north with guns.

Strange primitive piece of flesh, the heart laid quiet
hearing their cry pierce through its thin-walled cave
recalls the forgotten tiger,
and leaps awake in its old panic riot;
and how shall mind be sober,
since blood's red thread still binds us fast in history?
Tiger, you walk through all our past and future,
troubling the children's sleep'; laying
a reeking trail across our dreams of orchards.

Racing on iron errands, the trains go by,
and over the white acres of our orchards
hurl their wild summoning cry, their animal cry....
the trains go north with guns.

Collected Poems ** Read in preparation for a trip to Australia ** Eastern Province, KSA (Dec 2023)

[SummerBlue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not care for poetry at the best of times.
In poetry's quest to condense deep, complex ideas into short, compound spaces, poets are often TOO economical with their words, lines of words that when isolated I understand, but together in a verse? Who the fuck knows. Too few words are too loaded with meaning and into too tight a space, and often (to me, an unintellectual) make no sense as a result.

Anyway, I digress. I don't know what I think of Judith Wright, but I know that I don't really scare for her. She certainly suffers from the syndrome I described above at times, and what I find most frustrating with Wright is her habit of dedicating an entire poem to an issue she is dissatisfied with, so complained for several verses then at the end goes "but its alright". This philosophy of complaint but acceptance irks me too much for me to be fond of her. I don't feel she is a strong enough poet, more a confused woman who can't make up her mind.

[Krista Toovey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judith Wright’s poetry is best described as pastoral Australian Romantic. She uses vivid descriptions of the native Australian landscape to capture humanity’s relationship with the landscape and allegorically depict her concerns over British colonialism’s impact on Australia.

Between Wright, Harwood and Dobson - the strength of Australian female poets is astounding and underrated.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the language and the rhythm of this book line by line, or stanza by stanza, but at the poem level I have to work too hard, there's too much inaccessibility. To me. Nevertheless, the beauty of the lines are magnificent and will keep me coming back.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed Wright’s poetry. i think she presents interesting points, though sometimes i wish they were slightly less interesting *cough cough woman to man cough cough*.

my main takeaway though
remittance man, small town dance, eve to her daughters, weapons >>>>>

[Initially NO · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Listen for the way this poet’s rhythm changes over time, and with topic. The beat and tone easily accessible from the page.

[Sam Schroder · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s such a joy to revisit Wright’s work each year through the lens of representations of people and landscapes for the HSC. And this year, I think the students actually enjoyed the experience!

[kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a big fan of poetry. Had to read this one for school :/ However, I did enjoy learning about Wright and annotating her poems, even though some may have been strange...

[Richard Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's taken me some 18 months, but I've read my way right through this collection--and found some fine poems. More later, I hope.

[Justin Green]

Great Australian poetry

[Jeanna]

One poem hit so hard it made me want more.

[Jordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

i hate poetry