"Five Visions of Captain Cook" (1931) is a poem by Australian poet
Kenneth Slessor
Kenneth Adolphe Slessor (27 March 190130 June 1971) was an Australian poet, journalist and official war correspondent in World War II. He was one of Australia's leading poets, notable particularly for the absorption of modernist influences int ...
about
James Cook
Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
. It was originally published in the author's collection ''Trio: A Book of Poems'', and later appeared in numerous poetry anthologies.
[Austlit - "Five Visions of Captain Cook" by Kenneth Slessor]
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Outline
The poem "builds the character of Captain James Cook
Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...
from the reactions of those who sailed with him on his three major voyages."[''The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature'', 2nd edition, p283]
Reviews
In the essay "Kenneth Slessor: An Essay in Interpretation" (1997) A. K. Thompson noted: "The more carefully we read Cook's Journals the more impressive and convincing Slessor's reconstruction becomes and also the more unlikely it appears that Slessor was attempting to depict himself. Slessor also displays his great skill in marshalling the material that seems to him significant and it must be pointed out, especially in Slessor's case, that this marshalling and handling of significant material needs both skill and intelligence."
''The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature
The ''Oxford Companion to Australian Literature'' () is a book in the series of ''Oxford Companions'' published by Oxford University Press, its first edition dated 1985. It contains over 3,000 articles on Australian subjects: authors, titles, and l ...
'' stated that the poem was "Full of memorable lines that attest to Slessor's delight in language..and demonstrates that men who change the face of the world inevitably change the lives of those who associate with them."
Further publications
* ''One Hundred Poems : 1919-1939'' by Kenneth Slessor (1944)
* ''An Anthology of Australian Verse'' edited by George Mackaness (1952)
* ''The Boomerang Book of Australian Poetry'' edited by Enid Moodie Heddle (1956)
* ''A Book of Australian Verse'' edited by Judith Wright (1956)
* ''Australian Poets Speak'' edited by Colin Thiele and Ian Mudie (1961)
* ''A Book of Australian Verse'' edited by Judith Wright (1968)
* ''Poems'' by Kenneth Slessor (1975)
* ''The World's Contracted Thus'' edited by J. A. McKenzie and J. K. McKenzie (1983)
* ''My Country : Australian Poetry and Short Stories, Two Hundred Years'' edited by Leonie Kramer (1985)
* ''Cross-Country : A Book of Australian Verse'' edited by John Barnes and Brian McFarlane (1988)
* ''Kenneth Slessor : Collected Poems Kenneth Slessor'' edited by Dennis Haskell and Geoffrey Dutton
Geoffrey 'Geppie' Piers Henry Dutton Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (2 August 192217 September 1998) was an Australian author and historian.
Early life and education
Dutton was born at Anlaby Station near Kapunda, South Australia on 2 Au ...
(1994)
* ''Antipodes : Poetic Responses'' edited by Margaret Bradstock (2011)
* ''Australian Poetry Since 1788'' edited by Geoffrey Lehmann
Geoffrey Lehmann (born 28 June 1940) is an Australian poet, children's writer, and tax lawyer.
Biography
Lehmann grew up in McMahons Point, Sydney, and attended the Sydney Church of England Grammar School in North Sydney. He graduated in arts ...
and Robert Gray (2011)
External links
* Full text of the poem is available at the Poetry Foundation"Five Visions of Captain Cook" by Kenneth Slessor - full text
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See also
* 1931 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).
Events
*Louis Zukofsky edits the February issue of ''Poetry'' magazine. The issue eventually will be recognized as the fou ...
* 1931 in Australian literature
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Five Visions of Captain Cook
Australian poems
1931 poems
Kenneth Slessor
James Cook