Beneath the Tree Line
Jane Gibian

Beneath the Tree Line
Jane Gibian
Review
by Clare Millar
Jane Gibian is the author of several poetry collections, and she returns with Beneath the Tree Line. I regret I haven’t previously read Gibian’s work, but I was thoroughly impressed with this latest collection.
Sometimes I wonder if we’ve already written everything we can about nature, but perhaps I am too used to what I see everyday and forget to look away from my screens. I know that numerous species will adapt or disappear as the climate changes, but I forget too that we don’t know everything, and that there is always pleasure in simply observing nature. In Beneath the Tree Line, Gibian is grounded in this pleasure as she depicts the lands of the Eora Nation, focusing especially on the Cooks River. Though this area is so close to the city, her poems drew me into a feeling of seclusion. In this, she is a master at moving from the micro to the macro, and back again; ‘Russet leaves fall measuredly to join / uncountable thousands in the leaf litter’ and ‘Swallows dip & swerve / above the crowns of mature trees’ were some lines that especially made me feel this way.
I enjoyed Gibian’s ability to focus intently on each piece of nature that composes a scene. I was also surprised at how she demonstrated nature’s effect on people – sometimes quite subtly. Some of the later sections of the collection introduce more personal poems, which could have benefited from a stronger presence from the speaker of these poems. However, they were still captivating overall, and I can’t stop thinking about the line: ‘At this moment I try to catch the child growing.’ Beneath the Tree Line is a beautiful book not to be missed by nature poetry lovers. Readers who enjoy Mary Oliver and Judith Wright will find pleasure in these poems.
Clare Millar is from Readings online.
This item is in-stock and will ship in 2-3 business days
Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.

Time Is a Mother
$29.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

The Jaguar
$24.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

The Best 100 Poems of Gwen Harwood
$22.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Rose Interior: New Poems
$24.00Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Cartwarra or What?: Selected Poems and Short Stories
$24.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head
$27.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Birds (60th Anniversary Edition)
$24.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Acanthus
$24.00Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Danged Black Thing
$29.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Beasts of a Little Land
$29.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

My Monticello
$29.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Cooking at Home
$49.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Mothers, Fathers, and Others: New Essays
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

My Favourite Movies
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Ariadne
$22.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...