Between Two Tides (1952) is a long narrative poem by Australian poet R. D. Fitzgerald, which included illustrations by Norman Lindsay. It won the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry in 1952.[1]
 | |
| Author | R. D. Fitzgerald |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Halstead Press, Sydney |
Publication date | 1952 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 79 |
| Preceded by | Heemskerck Shoals |
| Followed by | This Night's Orbit : Verses |
Outline
editThe poem is "drawn from An Account of the Natives of the Tongan Islands by J. M. Martin (1817)", which "Fitzgerald had worked on intermittently over many years". "In five parts, the poem relates and discusses the life and exploits of Will Mariner, a young sailor on the privateer Port au Prince, which was attacked and burned by Tongan natives in 1806."[2]
Reviews
editA reviewer in The Sydney Morning Herald noted that the "theme of the eternally troubled mind with which man regards his destiny is not too profound to overload a simple narrative. Here is a story-poem which will please those whose palates have never become too sophisticated to reject the flavour of Treasure Island or Masefield's Dauber."[3]
Awards
edit- 1952 - winner Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Austlit - Between Two Tides by R. D. Fitzgerald
- ^ The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature, 2nd edition, p281
- ^ "Reviews in Brief", The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 December 1952, p8