The Ballad Of The Rhyming Knight Introduction Who is this slightly ridiculous figure clopping by? Who else but Francis himself? A little light hearted mockery of his own rhymed quest. A bit of a breather after the intensities of the two preceding poems. The knight is also of course a representative figure of all the […]
After The Flood Introduction A cleansed and renewed earth, just as there was after the flood of Noah. There has been the passing through not only of external catastrophe but also of inner ordeal ‘our desolation’. Reading Hints A supple, graceful and natural verse reflecting calm speech rhythms takes the place of the rhyming and […]
Hymn To God The Man Introduction What can we say here except that the poet forgets himself and sings a kirtan to his Lord, enabling us reciting it to do the same. No rules for reading, we just read from the heart as each paragraph of verse swells up in praise. Most modern devotional verse […]
Video of Bernard Bruford remembering some aspects of his lifelong relationship with Francis Brabazon. Bernard shares some remarkable letters from Francis, written while Francis was living in India with Meher Baba. These letters give a fascinating insight into Francis’s thoughts on Avatar’s Abode, and on being a follower of Meher Baba. Cameos by Jo-Anne Bruford […]
In 1941 Francis Brabazon wrote to his Sufi preceptor Baron von Frankenberg, ‘I have completed a painting from meditation and have shown it to the ones (in the Sufi group) who are interested in Art. I was very pleased because Os (Oswald Hall) was impressed. You see all along I have been saying to them […]
An Exhibition for Francis Brabazon Centennial at Avatar’s Abode, October 2007 This exhibition was curated by Australian painter John Parry specifically for the Francis Brabazon Centennial Celebrations at the Spring Sahavas at Avatar’s Abode during October 2007 Spring. The paintings were exhibited in Beloved Meher Baba’s House in the space facing His room at Avatar’s […]
[The material below is largely adapted from the information in Francis Brabazon – Poet of the Silent Word by Ross Keating and The Water Carrier by Robert Rouse and gleanings from chats with John Parry (J.P.) on Francis & painting – Geoff Gunther] Francis moved to Melbourne at the age of 21. His basic propensity […]
In this section we focus on this remarkable last collection of Brabazon’s poetry. It was published posthumously in 1988 …
The young banana plants are birds with green wings rising from the ground;
Such was my spirit when I still thought that beloved God could still be found.