Vale Jordie Albiston [by Thomas Moody]

We were saddened to hear the news last weak of the death of Melbourne poet Jordie Albiston at the age of 60. One of Australia’s most highly regarded contemporary poets, she will perhaps best be remembered for 2003’s The Fall and its much anthologized title poem, an account of a woman falling from the Empire State Building who at the same time tumbles through the story of her life.

 

Jordie-albiston

Albiston’s poetry was frequently adapted to other mediums: her collection Botany Bay Document was transformed into a performance work entitled Dreaming Transportation by Sydney composer Andree Greenwell, which premiered at the Sydney festival in 2003 and was staged the following year at the Sydney Opera House. In 2006, Albiston’s biographical verse The Hanging of Jean Lee was used as the text for an opera. Albiston’s poetry was often experimental within the confines of strict formal settings. Jack & Mollie (& Her) is a book-length poem comprising decasyllabic cinquains, while Euclid’s dog: 100 algorithmic poems uses various mathematical concepts and proofs as bases for its eight poetic forms.

In 2019, Albiston was the recipient of The Patrick White Literary Award for her significant contribution to Australian literature. She will be greatly missed.

 

Soul v. Body

A soul hung up, as ‘there in chains

Of nerves and arteries and veins…

— Andrew Marvell

Bout after bout I fight my body

over who will rule us, me or

her, and round after round sees

me thrown down, knocked out.

Physical she has the upper

fist, the flesh and blood that

gets bums on seats, while my

defence is simply the idea.

She is the temple and I am

the tenant, held like a hermit

in a strange arrangement with

the world, against my will.

Yes, I am the snail and she is

the shell and she is for sale

for giving me hell every time

she has climbed on my back

As the audience taunts and the

bell goes again, I see certain

stars yet staunchly believe

that spiritually I cannot lose.

Life after life I fight my body

over who is the purer, me or

her, and death after death we

return to the same new debate.

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Author: Thomas Moody