Simon West
Simon West is a poet and Italianist, and honourary fellow in the School of Languages at The University of Melbourne. His most recent book is The Ladder (2015).
All essays by Simon West
Oracles and the Intellect: James McAuley in the Centenary of his Birth
”In turning to McAuley’s own poetry for alternatives to what he had so passionately denounced in The End of Modernity, I find myself disappointed. Not that the poetry is bad. His best work is excellent and deserves a central place in the history of our mid twentieth-century poetry. But it is excellent in ways that are unexpected from the author of The End of Modernity, and it was not until later in his career that he found that voice.”
Auden’s Skirmish With The Real
‘For Auden the writing of literary non-fiction prose, which largely consists of reviews, prefaces, and lectures, was far from hack work. The two volumes in question total well over a thousand pages. It is striking how consistently measured and thoughtful each piece is. He may repeat ideas in different forums, but you never have the sense that he has a deadline to meet, or that he ever was rash in his judgement or expression.’ Simon West on the late prose of W.H. Auden.
Great Poem Hoax: The Best 100 Poems of Gwen Harwood
In the case of a selective anthology such as The Best 100 Poems of Gwen Harwood, both the adjective and the magical number have a trace of the ludicrous. One would like to think that Harwood had reached a level of importance where gratuitous boosting was unnecessary.