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From convicts to culture: poems that define our city We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Skip to sections navigationSkip to contentSkip to footer * Our network * SubscribeLog in Open NavigationMenu THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD Subscribe THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD close Search Site * Sections * Network * Home * Sydney * NSW * PoliticsShow subsections * Federal * NSW * Victoria * Queensland * Western Australia * BusinessShow subsections * Companies * Markets * The economy * Banking & finance * Entrepreneurship * Media * Workplace * WorldShow subsections * North America * Europe * Asia * Middle East * Oceania * South America * Africa * NationalShow subsections * Victoria * Queensland * Western Australia * Opinion * PropertyShow subsections * News * Title Deeds * Living * Auctions * Financing * SportShow subsections * NRL * Rugby union * Cricket * Soccer * AFL * Racing * Tennis * Netball * Basketball * Motorsport * Cycling * Golf * NFL * Athletics * Swimming * Boxing * Good FoodShow subsections * Eating out * Recipes * Tips & advice * Drinks * CultureShow subsections * Movies * TV & radio * Music * Celebrity * Books * Comedy * Dance * Musicals * Opera * Theatre * Art & design * TV guide * LifestyleShow subsections * Health & wellness * Fashion * Life & relationships * Beauty * Style * Horoscopes * TravellerShow subsections * Destination guides * Inspiration * Reviews & advice * Travel news * Good Weekend * Spectrum * Sunday Life * MoneyShow subsections * Super & retirement * Investing * Banking * Borrowing * Saving * Tax * Planning & budgeting * Insurance * Education * Healthcare * EnvironmentShow subsections * Conservation * Climate change * Sustainability * Weather * TechnologyShow subsections * Video games * Home tech * Phones * Gadgets * Drive * PREMIUM Subscribe * Today’s Paper * Daily Crosswords & Sudoku * MORE * Letters * Editorial * Column 8 * Obituaries * Explainers * Quizzes * Weather * The Sydney Morning Herald * The Age * Brisbane Times * WAtoday * The Australian Financial Review * Domain * Commercial Real Estate * Drive Advertisement * Culture * Books This was published 14 years ago FROM CONVICTS TO CULTURE: POEMS THAT DEFINE OUR CITY May 19, 2009 — 10.00am Save Log in, register or subscribe to save articles for later. SAVE ARTICLES FOR LATER Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Share Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size Advertisement MARTIN LANGFORD'S anthology of Sydney poetry, Harbour City Poems, is not before time. No city, no matter how humble or wretched its beginnings, could fail to acquire character in the 230-odd years since the first tentative steps onto the shores of Port Jackson - not with the convict era, the poverty-ridden slums, the war, the characters, the political dramas, the crime and the cultural triumphs. To put together something identifying that character would be impossible. There was an attempt in 1992, Sydney's Poems, to commemorate the city's 150th anniversary, edited by Robert Gray and Vivian Smith. But Langford, starting with the convict ditty Farewell To Old England For Ever, is going for a more substantial presentation, riding as he does a worldwide wave of nostalgia for cities. "The phenomenon of anthologies devoted to cities is a pretty recent one, and only seems to apply to some cities, starting with the obvious ones - London, Paris, New York," he says. "I still don't quite know what it means that Sydney presents itself as a candidate, nor whether it's the city or the poets. Maybe a bit of both." In his book, launched this week, Langford presents the outpourings of poets such as Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson, to a boat person setting out from Vietnam for a hoped-for better future. There is melancholy, such as in Lawson's Faces In The Street: Advertisement In sallow, sunken faces that are drifting through the street Drifting on, drifting on, To the scrape of restless feet; I can sorrow for the owners of the faces in the street. Or Elizabeth Riddell's Suburban Song: Now all the dogs with folded paws Stare at the lowering sky. This is the hour when women hear Their lives go ticking by. But Sydney has so many aspects. There is the physical beauty, centred mainly on the harbour, as Mary Richmond says in Sydney Harbour (New Year's Eve 1897): The jewelled city glitters through the night, The jewelled boats glide softly through the gloom; On the either hand dark isles and headlands loom … Below the surface is the enchantment of the Old World, as Dorothea Mackellar describes in Dusk In The Domain: So I saw them As I went through: Seven slum children from Woolloomooloo So much reflects the soul of the poet, as Kenneth Slessor says when he describes prostitution in William Street: "You find it ugly, I find it lovely …" There is so much of Sydney's soul that is hidden, as David Campbell found with the Aboriginal rock paintings, celebrated in Ku-ring-gai Rock Carvings. The range of poetry is not rooted in tradition, hence Les Murray's portrayal of Sydney from the Gladesville Bridge. And there is nothing comforting about J.S. Harry's poem Picking The Nits, about the Vietnam veterans' welcome home march in 1987. Some of the portrayals, such as Coral Hull's Liverpool and Paul Dawson's Thanks For The Poems, Pauline Hanson, focus on the ugliness. Peter Boyle's South-West Line contains the reminiscences of a Vietnamese migrant who came to Australia by boat. The 70 poets in this volume do not present a complete canvas. Who could? But they present a substantial portion of it. Harbour City Poems, edited by Martin Langford, published by Puncher & Wattmann in association with the Poets Union Inc, will be launched on Thursday as part of the Sydney Writers' Festival. Save Log in, register or subscribe to save articles for later. Share License this article MOST VIEWED IN CULTURE KYLIE MINOGUE BASKS IN THE GLORY AS PADAM PADAM RACES UP THE CHARTS ‘WE’RE HOPING FOR A ROYAL COMMISSION’: WHAT THE BETOOTA ADVOCATE DID NEXT THIS NETFLIX SHOW IS TYPICAL REALITY SCHLOCK, SO WHY ARE PEOPLE OBSESSED? 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