100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ

Auckland Bookstore open Sunday until 5pm! ๐ŸŽ‰

An Open Book

3.58 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 50 ratings, 8 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
An Open Book by David Malouf is a captivating collection of poems that explores themes of language, nature, and the human experience. With vivid imagery and profound reflections, Malouf invites readers into a world of lyrical beauty and contemplation, delving into the personal and universal aspects of life. This anthology reveals his mastery of storytelling through verse, offering readers a rich tapestry of emotion and thought.
Read More
Format: Hardback
$3700
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you appreciate rich reflections on the connections between life and literature. You might enjoy it for its deeply insightful exploration of how stories shape our understanding of the world and our place within it. Ideal for those who have a passion for literary arts and a desire to delve into the musings of one of Australia's esteemed writers.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

An Open Book celebrates the power of poetry and reaffirms David Malouf as one of Australia's most celebrated and beloved writers.

This is only David Malouf's third new poetry volume in nearly 40 years, so it is a significant publishing event. As one of Australia's greatest living poets, Malouf continues to meditate and reflect on themes of mortality and memory.

The poems in An Open Book are attentive and evocative, vital and beautiful, revisiting and reimagining some of the key themes that have resonated with readers over his impressive career. Like the 'small comfort of light... as night comes on', Malouf's new poems hold close the precious and tender.

Only a few of these poems have ever been published, so most of the collection will be completely new to readers everywhere. An Open Book will be the literary gift of the Christmas and summer of 2018.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780702260308

Publisher: University of Queensland Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 01 October 2018

Country: Australia

Imprint: University of Queensland Press

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 144.0mm

Height: 190.0mm

Weight: 264g

Pages: 88

About the Author

David Malouf was born in Brisbane in 1934. Since 'Interiors' in Four Poets, 1962, he has published poetry, novels and short stories, essays, opera librettos and a play, and is widely translated. His most recent poetry volumes include Typewriter Music (UQP, 2007) and his selected poems, Revolving Days, (UQP, 2008). Earth Hour (UQP, 2014), won both the Judith Wright Calanthe Award, the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry and was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards. Malouf was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1987 and elected an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1989. In 1997 he was declared an Australian National Living Treasure, while he received the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2000.

Also by David Malouf

View all
  • Ransom
    Malouf's fable engraves the epic themes of the Trojan war onto a perfect miniature. Australia's finest writer Miriam Cosic, The Australian ... profound ... subtle and extremely moving. Daniel Mendelsohn, New Yorker a masterpiece Alberto Manguel, Australian Literary Review A work of immediacy, humanity and tenderness. Philip Parker, Financial Times David Malouf shines new light on Homer's Iliad, adding twists...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Fly Away Peter
    A cast of wildly different characters, united by a love of birds, come together on the coast of Australia in 1914. Their avian idyll is soon disturbed as war rips through Europe, irrevocably changing and challenging their lives. For three very different people brought together by their love for birds, life on the Queensland coast in 1914 is the timeless...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Complete Stories
    Thirty-one epic stories from Australia's award-winning author David Malouf. WINNER OF THE AUSTRALIA-ASIA LITERARY AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE PRIME MINISTER'S LITERARY AWARD In these thirty-one stories, David Malouf's imagination inhabits shocking violence, quick humour, appealing warmth, and harsh cruelty with equal intensity. He shares tales of bookish boys, taciturn men, and intimate stories of men and women looking for something...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • An Imaginary Life
    An Imaginary Life is described by the Wall Street Journal as "a brilliantly inventive novel... Malouf puts on a dazzling literary display in this arresting, original, lyrical work." In the first century AD, Publius Ovidius Naso, the most urbane and irreverent poet of imperial Rome, was banished to a remote village on the edge of the Black Sea. From these...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Remembering Babylon
    In the 1840s, a ship's boy cast ashore in northern Australia is taken in by Aborigines. Sixteen years later, he steps out of the bush and inadvertently confronts the new white settlers with their unspoken terrors. Remembering Babylon offers a picture of Australia at the time of its foundation, focusing on the hostility between early British settlers and native Aboriginals....
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • An Open Book
    An Open Book by David Malouf is a modern classic, now released in paperback for the first time, featuring seven new, previously unpublished poems. As one of Australia's finest poets, David Malouf reminds us of the ways poetry, music, and creativity enrich our lives. Like the 'small comfort of light ... as night comes on', this dazzling collection captures the...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Earth Hour
    A Malouf modern classic released in paperback for the first time. In this unforgettable collection, Malouf once again reaffirms himself as one of Australia's most celebrated and beloved poets. Demonstrating an intimate sense of place and language and evoking both the charm and power of the natural world, Earth Hour comes to rest at the perfect, still moment of 'silence,...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Typewriter Music
    David Malouf's brilliant collection of poems begins with a memory of new loveโ€”with 'grace unasked for, urgencies that boom under the pocket of a shirt'โ€”and ends in the intimate territory of the long-familiar where there is no need for words. This volume is marked by an astonishing breadth of intelligence and erudition, yet steps lightly among the objects of our...
    Hardback
    $3600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Typewriter Music
    A Malouf modern classic released in paperback for the first time. Typewriter Music begins with a memory of new love โ€” with 'grace unasked for, urgencies that boom under the pocket of a shirt' โ€” and ends in the intimate territory of the long-familiar relationships that define our lives as we grow old. This volume is marked by a breadth...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Revolving Days: Selected Poems
    From the groundbreaking Bicycle and Other Poems to the best-selling Typewriter Music, Revolving Days: Selected Poems is a resplendent, up-to-the-minute selection by one of Australia's most distinguished poets. Malouf's best poems, with their grace and intelligence, remain among the finest examples of the Australian lyric. This is an essential compendium for all lovers of literature.
    Paperback
    $3100
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Johnno
    Johnno is a typical Australian who refuses to be typical. Seen through the eyes of the narrator, he is a figure of legendary proportions. His disorderly presence can disturb the staleness of gothic Brisbane or destroy the tranquillity of a Greek landscape. But what is the truth about Johnno? Semi-autobiographical, the novel perfectly captures the ragged modernisation of Brisbane and...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Harland's Half Acre
    A revised edition of this seminal Malouf novel, now with an Afterword from the author. Frank Harland's life is centred on his great artistic gift, his passionate love for his father and four brothers, and his desire to regain the Harlands' lost prosperity. Phil Vernon, growing up alone in the midst of a demanding family, is a boy when he...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Arts & Culture

View all
  • Dylan's Pick
    Bold Types
    A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...
    Hardback
    $5500
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    Available
    Ships in 1 week
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    New Release
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far youโ€™ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    Hardback
    $7299
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • They Bloom Because of You
    Bestselling author and Instagram sensation Jessica Urlichs returns with a new collection of beautifully observed poems about the ever-evolving journey of motherhood - the hard, the magic and the fleeting. โ€˜A raw and honest read that makes you feel seen and understood in a way that will bring you to tears.โ€™ - Hilary Swank โ€˜A book to keep close and...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3600
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Odyssey
    Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3599
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Leaves of Grass
    A collectible new Penguin Classics series offers beautiful, slim, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets. In 1855, Walt Whitman published his first collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. The volume received great praise from leading Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This encouragement led to what would become a lifelong project, as Whitman expanded and rewrote the volume until his death...
    Hardback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Great Writers and the Cats who Owned Them
    Throughout history, cats and writers have bonded together in a magical combination of comfort, companionship and inspiration. The famous authors featured here range from Samuel Johnson, whose cat Hodge dined on oysters, and Edward Lear, whose charismatic cat Foss was missing half his tail, to Margaret Mitchell, L. M. Montgomery and Dorothy L. Sayers, who rescued her kitten Blitz from...
    Hardback
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Beautiful Chaos
    The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...
    Paperback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • To the Women - The New Collection of Wise Words Every Woman Needs
    THE COMPLETELY UPDATED COLLECTION WITH OVER 70 BRAND NEW POEMS, FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WILD HOPE AND WORDS TO LIVE BY 'Amazing . . . Donna's words speak to my heart' Davina McCall To the Women is a celebration of the beauty, strength, and joy of being a woman. A love letter to our deep capacity...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Backorder
    Ships early August
  • Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour
    The creative journey continues with Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour by Keri Smith, the latest and most vibrant edition of the groundbreaking series that redefined journaling. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this edition brings the playful destructiveness of the original to life in dazzling full colour, adding a dynamic new dimension to the beloved prompts. Whether you're a seasoned Wreck-er,...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Iliad
    When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017โ€”revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)โ€”critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Odyssey
    The Odyssey by Homer is a monumental epic that has enthralled readers for centuries with its rich tapestry of adventure and human struggle. It chronicles the perilous journey of Odysseus, the cunning King of Ithaca, as he strives to return home after the fall of Troy. During this ten-year odyssey, Odysseus confronts myriad dangers, both natural and supernatural, that test...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.