Comments on: Five Bells

By: Sheryl Gwyther

Sheryl Gwyther — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:20:17 +0000

It’s one of my very favourite poems, too, Justine. And reading it just now has touched my heart again.
Re ‘The Book Show’ we all need to email the ABC furiously, and get more YA and junior fiction writers and books on the show. There’s not enough exposure to this area anywhere – at least Saturday’s Courier Mail has a page devoted to children/YA books. I wrote to the Australian’s Review editor re this lack but he wasn’t all that forthcoming. Grrr. Cheers from a very rainy Brisbane.

By: fifi

fifi — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:54:36 +0000

Five Bells articulated my harbour, when I was a sixteen year old schoolgirl, and I think of the words and their sound whenever I cross it.
Especially at night.

By: Garth Nix

Garth Nix — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:38:19 +0000

I think your spam eater scoffed down this comment when I made it earlier, because I included the URL to the story — the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Slessor’s heir is planning to sell the copyright in “Five Bells” to support an animal rights shelter. He hopes an ad agency or someone similar will buy the copyright, which has around 30 years left to run (out of the 70 post Slessor’s death).

It’s one of my favourite poems too. There was a very good play adapted from Slessor’s DARLINGHURST NIGHTS collection, which included this poem and the story behind it (about a friend who fell or jumped from a Sydney ferry and drowned).

By: Garth Nix

Garth Nix — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:01:39 +0000

Did you know the copyright in "Five Bells" is for sale? Probably not a good investment, though there might be a market for tea towels, mugs etc, in addition to the odd reprint here and there. It's one of my favourite poems, too.

By: genevieve

genevieve — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:15:19 +0000

Oh, cool. Thanks for sharing the love. I’ll enjoy that too.

By: Amber

Amber — Sun, 18 May 2008 14:49:22 +0000

I feel the same way: live in Canada, emigrated from the UK via New Zealand. You just have to hear from your other life sometimes. (thought it worked the other way too – in NZ, had to hear Canadian radio). Sometimes I think you always miss what you can’t have, and the more places you live, the more there is to miss. Sighs.

Oh, and I agree – they need to know ‘back home’ that the Oz YALit bandwagon is well and truly unstoppable over here. A few years ago, I felt like a one-woman promotional show, feverishly pushing Jaclyn Moriarty and Nick Earls etc while the Canucks looked at me as if I were a deranged loon. These days they get it, and you are all so tres tres big over here. Hurrah!

By: the dragonfly

the dragonfly — Sun, 18 May 2008 12:04:38 +0000

I’ve been feeling a bit homesick lately too (from the States, live in Germany). I’ve never really been homesick before, but because my husband is in Iraq…I miss my family. And I miss the Lake…I grew up not far from Lake Michigan and spent lots of time there.

It’s funny how reading about you and your home makes me think of my home.

By: Kelly G.

Kelly G. — Sun, 18 May 2008 08:44:06 +0000

Wow, that’s beautiful. I’d never read it before now, but it really took me aback. I love being surprised by a poem that I like.

By: deborahb

deborahb — Sun, 18 May 2008 04:46:17 +0000

I love Slessor’s poetry, & can also remember studying Five Bells at highschool! I always loved its mournful isolation…