AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS & WRITERS FOR PEACE
Rights, Writes by Timoshenko Aslanides
[Above] Photo of Timoshenko Aslanides by Timoshenko Aslanides, 1998.
Timoshenko Aslanides
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Rights, Writes
(Ronsard, II, xxvi)
While all the world's at war, or in its fear,
and tyranny holds millions in its thrall,
what right have I to be of such good cheer
and write of love? Indeed, to write at all?
For surely all my efforts should conform
with policies bureaucracy advises,
despite propensity to misinform
the people whom the government despises.
Because of woman, and for woman's eyes,
I write of things impinging on her heart,
and have an influence that horrifies
those men who think that war's the greater art.
If I'm to taste and cultivation thrives,
thus may I save a thousand, million, lives. |
About the Poet Timoshenko Aslanides
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Timoshenko Aslanides is Australian, born in Sydney on 24 December 1943. He has worked as a full-time, professional poet since 1985. His first book of poems, The Greek Connection, 1977, won him the British Commonwealth Poetry Prize for 1978 for the best first book of poetry in English published in the British Commonwealth of Nations the previous year. His eighth book of poetry, Occasions for Words, has just been published by Wakefield Press (Adelaide). Timoshenko has been interviewed by and read his poetry on a variety of ABC and Public Radio stations throughout Australia, as well as with the BBC in London. Most of his work has been published in book form; he generally does not publish in literary magazines and journals. That said, he admits to having placed more than 200 poems (most of them from the first two books) in a range of (hard copy) Australian literary magazines, journals and newspapers as well as overseas, in Antipodes (New York) and Metre (Trinity College, Dublin). |
[Above] Photo of Timoshenko Aslanides by Timoshenko Aslanides, 1998.
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