Astral Sea

Astral Sea

Author	Alan Gould
Language	English
Genre	Poetry collection
Publisher	Angus and Robertson
Publication date	1981
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Print
Pages	72 pp.
Awards	1981 NSW Premier's Literary Award – Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, winner
ISBN	0207143560

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

• "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

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

• 1981 NSW Premier's Literary Award – Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, winner ^[3]

See also

• 1981 in Australian literature

References

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. "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.