Description
SECOND HAND BOOK – EX LIBRARY
This book was written by four prisoners in Parramatta Gaol. In the words of their editor Rodney Hall, all four are “real poets – their dedication to their work is absolute and admirable”. Their writing is sometimes funny and sometimes deeply moving. All of it is worth reading and re-reading, for these are no ordinary men: they view life with tough and unsentimental directness, remarkably free from bitterness and defeat.
“I began writing poetry in my cell,” says Eric MacKenzie, “it helps to nudge the night along.” Jack Murray says: “Poetry has opened a new world.” In three lines Max Williams catches his life and the character of his poetry: “Bi-social/by necessity/By Joves!” And Robin Thurston, with the wit that marks the attitude to society of all these men, provides two sentences of expressive biography: “Left school to conquer the world in six months. No luck.”
Rodney Hall’s excited response conveys the impact of these remarkable poems: “When I first read them I declined to write comments in their margins. I had to go to the gaol and meet the authors and talk to them. When I had been once, I had to go again.”
Specifications:
Condition: Fair. Ex-library – spine and back cover have library stickers, end pages have library labels and stamps.
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Year: 1973
Format: Hardback
Pages: 71
ISBN-10: 0702208744
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03 9326 9288 
office@historyvictoria.org.au 
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Anna Read –
Brilliant. l am lucky enough to have a copy of this great and important work by these poets. Two (Max Williams and Robin Thurston) have stood the test of time and are still read.
Robin Thurston is also a gifted playwright and his works are worth reading. Two were put on at the Sydney Opera House.
He wrote Believed Dangerous, which l can’t praise highly enough. He and Max are among Australia’s great poets.
Anna Read –
This rare book is a work of genius by gifted poets, especially Max Williams and the brilliant Robin Thurston whose own book, Believed Dangerous, is also for sale and an investment that can only increase in value. l am lucky enough to own two copies, one signed and dedicated, as well as Poems From Prison. Anyone lucky enough to own Poems From Prison will find treasure within.
Jane –
This book is brilliant for the most part. My husband was the one who organised the group in the first place, and l am very proud of him and it. He has written other things since, including several plays. l was privileged to find a copy of Poems From Prison last year. Highly recommended.