Petra White
Encyclopedia
Petra White is an Australian poet
. Petra was born in Adelaide
in 1975, the eldest of six children, and now lives in Melbourne
, where she works, for the moment, as a public servant. Her first published collection of poetry, The Incoming Tide (John Leonard Press 2007), was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards and the ACT Poetry Prize.
In 2011, five of Petra White's poems were selected for inclusion in the landmark anthology of Australian Poetry, Australian Poetry Since 1788. The poems selected are Ricketts Point, Voyage, Woman and Dog, Older Sister and Notes for the Time Being.
. She studied English and German literature at the University of Melbourne, completing a BA with honours. In 2002 she studied at Essen University and travelled widely in Europe. She is currently completing a Master of Public Policy and Management, also at the University of Melbourne. In 2008 she was Fellow of Hawthornden Castle
International Retreat for Writers, completing a five-week residency.
Petra's second collection, The Simplified World, published in 2010, was the joint winner of the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
. Her work has appeared in the anthology Take Five (Shoestring Press 2008, UK), The Age
, Melbourne, and other anthologies and periodicals.
Petra White is a founding co-editor of the So Long Bulletin, a blog on Australian poetry and criticism. She was the judge for the Reason-Brisbane Poetry Prize in 2011.
'Sister', from The Incoming Tide, "is a lovely, almost comically surprising poem whose essential structure is that it is about sisterhood only in its title and its last two lines. As the poem progresses through four eight-line stanzas the gap between the title and the content of the poem grows more and more intense so that the conclusion is that much more satisfying:"
Descendant of the Aztec dog-god
Xolotl, who with mangled hands and feet
guided the dead to heaven, his once trans-
lucent form refuses catastrophe; more
than the ailing tabby, the timorous
and watchful high-heeled dog, or the rented
fireprone house, he guards our dangerous
childhood pledge to never change.
"It is one of those rare poems which is simultaneously sophisticated and easy to grasp: it should be immediately anthologized."
"In The Simplified World Petra White more than fulfils the promise made by her first book, The Incoming Tide, back in 2007. For all of her literary sophistication and verbal ingenuity, White is a poet of the world as we know it, an observer of poignant situations – and a conveyor of them. Whether it’s an anonymous, depressed woman walking her dog (‘‘not a small one’’) until its feet bleed and then carrying it ‘‘all the way home, wherever that was’’, or a Lebanese couple running a take-away for decades, White over and over again leaves us moved by what she has shown us. As well as by poignancy, however, the book is held together by certain thematic threads. One is a feeling for depression, the strangeness of it, the way it cannot be lifted by a mere effort of will. It is a‘‘blankness as wide as the long sea’’ (‘‘St Kilda’’) and raises the question ‘‘Where does illness live,/what does it want? . . . Describe your fear. How do you feel out of 10?/Out of 9?’’ (‘‘Notes for the Time Being’’)."
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. Petra was born in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in 1975, the eldest of six children, and now lives in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, where she works, for the moment, as a public servant. Her first published collection of poetry, The Incoming Tide (John Leonard Press 2007), was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards and the ACT Poetry Prize.
In 2011, five of Petra White's poems were selected for inclusion in the landmark anthology of Australian Poetry, Australian Poetry Since 1788. The poems selected are Ricketts Point, Voyage, Woman and Dog, Older Sister and Notes for the Time Being.
Biography
Petra White grew up in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. She studied English and German literature at the University of Melbourne, completing a BA with honours. In 2002 she studied at Essen University and travelled widely in Europe. She is currently completing a Master of Public Policy and Management, also at the University of Melbourne. In 2008 she was Fellow of Hawthornden Castle
Hawthornden Castle
Hawthornden Castle is located on the River North Esk in Midlothian, Scotland. The castle lies a mile to the east of Roslin at grid reference , and is just downstream from Roslin Castle. Hawthornden comprises a 15th century ruin, with a 17th century L-plan house attached. The house has been restored...
International Retreat for Writers, completing a five-week residency.
Petra's second collection, The Simplified World, published in 2010, was the joint winner of the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
The Grace Leven Prize for Poetry is an annual award given in the name of Grace Leven who died in 1922. It was established by William Baylebridge who "made a provision for an annual poetry prize in memory of 'my benefactress Grace Leven' and for the publication of his own work"...
. Her work has appeared in the anthology Take Five (Shoestring Press 2008, UK), The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, Melbourne, and other anthologies and periodicals.
Petra White is a founding co-editor of the So Long Bulletin, a blog on Australian poetry and criticism. She was the judge for the Reason-Brisbane Poetry Prize in 2011.
Critical Reception
"With her unpretentious voice and subject matter, Petra draws the reader to her and absorbs them with tales of her multifaceted life."'Sister', from The Incoming Tide, "is a lovely, almost comically surprising poem whose essential structure is that it is about sisterhood only in its title and its last two lines. As the poem progresses through four eight-line stanzas the gap between the title and the content of the poem grows more and more intense so that the conclusion is that much more satisfying:"
Descendant of the Aztec dog-god
Xolotl, who with mangled hands and feet
guided the dead to heaven, his once trans-
lucent form refuses catastrophe; more
than the ailing tabby, the timorous
and watchful high-heeled dog, or the rented
fireprone house, he guards our dangerous
childhood pledge to never change.
"It is one of those rare poems which is simultaneously sophisticated and easy to grasp: it should be immediately anthologized."
"In The Simplified World Petra White more than fulfils the promise made by her first book, The Incoming Tide, back in 2007. For all of her literary sophistication and verbal ingenuity, White is a poet of the world as we know it, an observer of poignant situations – and a conveyor of them. Whether it’s an anonymous, depressed woman walking her dog (‘‘not a small one’’) until its feet bleed and then carrying it ‘‘all the way home, wherever that was’’, or a Lebanese couple running a take-away for decades, White over and over again leaves us moved by what she has shown us. As well as by poignancy, however, the book is held together by certain thematic threads. One is a feeling for depression, the strangeness of it, the way it cannot be lifted by a mere effort of will. It is a‘‘blankness as wide as the long sea’’ (‘‘St Kilda’’) and raises the question ‘‘Where does illness live,/what does it want? . . . Describe your fear. How do you feel out of 10?/Out of 9?’’ (‘‘Notes for the Time Being’’)."
Poetry
- The Incoming Tide. (Melbourne: John Leonard Press, 2007)
- The Simplified World. (Melbourne: John Leonard Press, 2010)
Anthologies
- Best Australian Poems. (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010)
- Take Five 08. (Nottingham: Shoestring Press, 2008)
- Best Australian Poetry. (Brisbane: University of Queensland PressUniversity of Queensland PressEstablished in 1948, University of Queensland Press is a dynamic publishing house known for its innovative philosophy and commitment to producing books of high quality and cultural significance...
, 2010) - The Puncher and Wattman Anthology of Australian Poetry. (Sydney: Puncher & WattmannPuncher & WattmannPuncher & Wattmann is an independent Australian publishing house founded by David Musgrave in 2005. It specialises in publishing Australian poetry and literary fiction. Launched by David Malouf, its first title, James Stinks by Nick Riemer was placed third in the Mary Gilmore Award in 2006...
, 2010) - Australian Poetry Since 1788. Geoffrey Lehmann (ed.), Robert Gray (ed.) (Sydney: UNSW Press, 2011)
- Thirty Australian Poets. Felicity Plunkett (ed.) (Brisbane: University of Queensland PressUniversity of Queensland PressEstablished in 1948, University of Queensland Press is a dynamic publishing house known for its innovative philosophy and commitment to producing books of high quality and cultural significance...
, 2011) - Young Poets: An Australian Anthology. (Melbourne: John Leonard Press, 2011)