The Portrait. Poem by Michael Walker
The Portrait.
The large portrait dominated the first floor
of the Auckland central library for a while.
I would see a middle-aged youthful man
wearing a tweed jacket, tie, warm clothes,
pipe in hand looking at a slight angle.
The man in the painting seemed to survey
what was going on in the quiet collection room.
This man could have been a farmer or a clerk,
I thought, but for the intense gaze of someone
who has read all the books on the shelf.
In fact, he had been a relief worker on Depression roads,
later a lecturer at Auckland University and Elam.
He looked inquiring,and personable to me
and had already written 'To a Friend in the Wilderness'.
He was the country's startling outsider poet, A.R.D.Fairburn,
but one vacant morning his oils likeness was gone.
- 24 October,2018.
Fairburn earned a living by doing relief labouring work on roads in the Depression, then much later he became an English lecturer at Auckland University and at the Elam School of Fine arts.
He evidently enjoyed social life in the Auckland poetry scene, with plenty of drinking, very much, but he could always find the time to write poetry.
As a teacher, one of my favourite poems to read to classes was 'Full Fathom Five' by Fairburn. It is a 24-line poem about an deep-sea diver who was very happy deep below the water's surface, a lover of shells, finding trumpets thrown from ocean liners, 'eccentric starfish' and 'weary dolphins'. Down on the sea-bed, he was happy because no one bothered him about statistics 'or talk of yet another dimension of the mind'.
He tried to drown, but couldn't, so he went into the desert where he was eaten by ants 'with a rainbow of silence branching from his lips'.Classes loved this poem. 'To a Friend in the Wilderness' is much too long to read to high school classes.
The last time I called in at central library, I was shown the portrait of A.R.D.Fairburn in the back room. Out of sight.
The large portrait definitely requires large space and this occupies more place that is why this is dominated the entire first floor. Through work he gets relief from depression and youthful man clothes more. This poem is very informative and brilliantly penned.10
Thanks once again for your perceptive comment about a very fine, but underrated NZ poet. I must call into the library next time I am in Auckland and look at the portrait again, if it is still there.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/7/2024 9:44:40 PM # 1.0.0.1119
An excellent portrayal of Rex Fairburn which provides an insight into his work as well as his personality. Your meticulous observation reminded me of the deductive style of Sherlock Holmes. Great poem. Thanks.
Thanks for your positive, encouraging comment. Last night I read again 'To a Friend in the Wilderness', a very long free verse poem about friendship and adapting to like in NZ in the 1930s to the 1950s. It is a magnificent poem if you ever get time to read it.