Rousseau and the Tiger
This is the Tiger and this is Rousseau.
This is the picture I painted to show
That this is the Tiger, so supple and eager.
And this is the customs man, suited and meagre,
And what do we wonder and what do we know?
This is the Tiger and this is Rousseau.
I am Rousseau and I painted the Tiger,
The Tiger so fierce and the Tiger so free.
This is the jungle, the terrible tangle,
And these are the teeth that will torture and mangle,
And all of it up on the wall as you see.
This is the Tiger and this? This is me.
This is the man and he works in an office,
And this is the beast so unhuman and fine.
This is the picture. I painted the picture.
With cunning and craft I effected the capture,
I conjured the colour, I dreamed the design,
And I painted the Tiger. The Tiger is mine.
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Aug 29 2024
6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins