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Southern Barbarians

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Southern Barbarians by John Mateer explores the legacy of the Portuguese traders who introduced Europe to Japan in the sixteenth century. The collection meditates on the Portuguese Empire as a fleeting, nostalgic presence marked by yearning and loss. At its core is the poet's experience as a migrant and traveller whose identity and surroundings evoke echoes of other places and times, haunted by doubles and accompanied by spectral guides, embodying both ghostliness and connection.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2999
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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?

Ideal for readers interested in poetry, cultural history, and explorations of memory and identity within the context of empire and migration.

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The Portuguese traders who brought Europe to Japan in the sixteenth century were known as 'southern barbarians'. In his new collection John Mateer offers a contemporary re-charting of the Portuguese Empire. This empire is a fugitive one, notable for its saudade desterrado

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

The Portuguese traders who brought Europe to Japan in the sixteenth century were known as 'southern barbarians'. In his new collection Southern Barbarians, John Mateer offers a contemporary re-charting of the Portuguese Empire.

This empire is a fugitive one, notable for its saudade, its awareness of loss, its yearning for a world that appears only intermittently in this one, as an echo, a trace, a memory. At its heart is the figure of the poet, as migrant, tourist, desterrado. His identity is inhabited by other identities, just as the place he is in reminds him of other places.

Haunted by doubles and reflections, accompanied by 'spirit guides' who pass between this world and the other, he is both ghostly and connected wherever he goes, and connected precisely because of his ghostliness.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781920882587

Publisher: Giramondo Publishing Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 April 2011

Country: Australia

Imprint: Giramondo Publishing Co

Illustration: Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 150.0mm

Height: 210.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 96

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