A review of Gestures of Love: The Fatherhood Poems by Andrew Lansdown. Published by Even Before Publishing.

I had not heard of Andrew Lansdown before, and yet he is an extremely accomplished writer and poet with more than 18 books of poetry and fiction published. He has won several state literary awards, and been shortlisted for a national award. He is a regular at poetry festivals around Australia.

More pertinent to his latest book, he is a father of five children.

He has put together a collection of poems, Gestures of Love, which is a celebration of fatherhood. It is such a treat to read a collection of fine poems. Poetry and songs seem to have that ability to send arrows through and open up our hearts.

His poems traverse the whole experience of fatherhood, from conception:

So, the doctor has confirmed
What we had scarce presumed:
The force and fuse of our love
Has exploded into life.

To birth:

After the long pain –
such brightness on her face as
she held our firstborn,
his head still messy with blood
and vernix and forceps-marks!

Through the first few months of babyhood:

Everyone else is asleep
and I am up this early
only to keep my small son from crying

To the delightful toddler years:

‘I heard a song and
it was pink,’ she says, pestering
me to come and see.
I follow her to the front yard
as the ice-cream van drives away.

To the time when the nest is empty

Not until they took
their independence

of me, my children –
not until then, then

did I discover
just how much I am

in dependence, in
dependence on them.

Through it all is a rich knowledge of, and celebration of his faith mingling with his experiences of fatherhood, and imparted to his children.

Your life has spoken
The mysterious grammar of godliness,
The deep logic of love and law.

Father, if in eternity I have a place,
it is because (no matter how jaded)
I first saw Jesus in your face.

Lansdown’s poetry creeps up on you. As the Oxford Companion for Poetry comments: “The effect of his poetry is cumulative.” This reference also notes that Lansdown is unusual amongst his modern colleagues because his poems have a mood of contentment and joy, as well as “consistent technical excellence.” It is a tribute to him that the iconic Les Murray has dedicated a poem to him, with the final line: “it glories like the kingdom within Andrew.”

This is a wonderful collection of poems, and a lovely tribute to fatherhood. Perhaps it is fitting to close with a characteristically playful stanza, which captures the delight of parenting:

Sometimes I sense my children
have turned my life about.
They top me up with gladness,
tip me over, pour me out.

KARA MARTIN is the Associate Dean of the Marketplace Institute, Ridley Melbourne, has been a lecturer with School of Christian Studies, and Wesley Institute and is an avid reader and book group attendee. Kara does book reviews for Hope 103.2’s Open House and Eternity.