Astral Sea

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Astral Sea
AuthorAlan Gould
LanguageEnglish
GenrePoetry collection
PublisherAngus and Robertson
Publication date
1981
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint
Pages72 pp.
Awards1981 NSW Premier's Literary Award – Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, winner
ISBN0207143560

Astral Sea is a collection of poems by Australian poet Alan Gould, published by Angus and Robertson in Australia in 1981.[1]

The collection contains 43 poems from a variety of sources, with some published here for the first time.[2]

The collection won the 1981 NSW Premier's Literary Award – Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry.[3]

Contents

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  • "Batu Caves"
  • "The Coral"
  • "Energies (Energies)"
  • "Two Sea Eagles (Northwest Island, Capricornia Group)"
  • "The Heartland"
  • "The Barbarians"
  • "The Regulars"
  • "From Pozieres"
  • "The Vinlanders : Erik Thorvaldsson"
  • "The Vinlanders : Leif the Lucky (The Vinlanders : Leif Eriksson)"
  • "The Vinlanders : Thorgisl Orrabeinsfostri"
  • "The Vinlanders : Thorfinn Karlsefni"
  • "The Vinlanders : Gudrid Thorbjornsdaughter"
  • "The Vinlanders : Thorhall the Hunter"
  • "The Vinlanders : Thorvald Eriksson"
  • "The Vinlanders : Freydis Eriksdaughter"
  • "The Vinlanders : Herjolfsness, Greenland, 1540"
  • "The Songs of Ymir : Birth"
  • "The Songs of Ymir : First Dream"
  • "The Songs of Ymir : Buri"
  • "The Songs of Ymir : Man / Woman"
  • "The Songs of Ymir : Second Dream"
  • "The Songs of Ymir : Death"
  • "The Tarantella"
  • "Marco Polo Remembers the Province of Kamul"
  • "Suite Irlondaise"
  • "The Grand Economy : Four Ghazals"
  • "Marine Photographs : The Sea Herself"
  • "Marine Photographs : Still Lives (Ariel, Thermopylae, 1872)"
  • "Marine Photographs : Port of Melbourne Song"
  • "Marine Photographs : Valparaiso Song"
  • "Marine Photographs : Krakatoa (Charles Bal, 1883)"
  • "Marine Photographs : Their Luck (The Dundee, 1827)"
  • "Marine Photographs : Australian Negative (Torrens, 1883, Recalled 1920)"
  • "Any Two Pictures (Shomberg, 1855) (Marine Photographs : Any Two Pictures (Shomberg, 1855))"
  • "The Wave (Blackadder, 1873) (Marine Photographs : The Wave (Blackadder, 1873))"
  • "Recalling Her Launching (Cutty Sark, November 23rd 1869) (Marine Photographs : Recalling Her Launching (Cutty Sark, November 23rd 1869))"
  • "Marine Photographs : Ice (Cromdale, 1892)"
  • "Marine Photographs : Port of Melbourne (Mermerus and Others, 1896)"
  • "Marine Photographs : 35 Degrees S 5 Degrees W (Sobraon, 1883)"
  • "Marine Photographs : Tropic (Harbinger, 1880s)"
  • "Marine Photographs : The Custom (Arctic Whaler, 1820 Approx)"
  • "Marine Photographs : Ship in a Bottle (Loch Ard, 1878)"

Critical reception

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Writing in The Age Thomas Shapcott noted Gould's Icelandic ancestry and commented: "The two major sequences 'The Vinlanders' and 'The Songs of Ymir' are undoubtedly the core of this collection. 'The Vinlanders' is a set of nine Sestinas – which must make Alan Gould the most determined practitioner of this form in Australia. Determined – and successful."[4]

In a review of a number of different poetry collections in The Sydney Morning Herald poet Jennifer Maiden noted: "Alan Gould writes formidable poems about heroism and the warriors of Norse mythology. The work has a fatalism and spiritual resonance that reminds me of Jospeh Conrad."[5]

Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Astral Sea by Alan Gould". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  2. ^ "Austlit — Astral Sea by Alan Gould". Austlit. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Book award goes to 86-year-old". The Age, 8 September 1981,p16. ProQuest 2520980395. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  4. ^ ""Poised Poetry from the Cool School"". The Age 21 November 1981, p23. ProQuest 2521119142. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  5. ^ ""Prolific small presses offer large temptations"". The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 June 1982, p37. ProQuest 2570611744. Retrieved 25 November 2025.