Tim Edwards: ‘In the School Library’
In the School Library
Hands are rarely in open prayer,
Cradling the spines of other worlds,
Instead talk is the common currency,
And contemplation a small coin.
Weaned on colour and motion,
Here is a different dexterity,
Where fingers pad the slickness of plastic,
And hands power the mice of information.
Hooked on this noisy business,
Few will seek out those quiet avenues,
Where a thin light still continues to slant,
Through diminishing book shelves,
Shaping shadows in Dewey order.
As one class leaves and another arrives,
One might be tempted to declare:
The money-traders are well and truly
Running the temple.
Tim Edwards
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