Overview

Sacred Remnants by Charles Freyberg is a vibrant and deeply evocative poetry collection that journeys through the rich tapestry of Sydney's Kings Cross and the author's ancestral lands in Queensland. With acute insight, Freyberg presents an intimate cavalcade of queers, queens, bohemians, and burlesque artists, capturing the spirit of a disappearing bohemian world marked by venues like Les Girls and the Bourbon and Beefsteak. These poems meld vivid character portraits with a poignant lament for the gentrification erasing the unique essence of the area. The collection also bravely confronts colonial legacies, exploring the author's family history intertwined with the dispossession of First Nations peoples, evoking the painful yet necessary reckoning with Australia's past. Freyberg's work transcends place and time, weaving Shakespearean reimaginings, personal memories, and sacred landscapes into a powerful meditation on identity, love, loss, and resilience. Sacred Remnants is a celebration of friendship, transformation, and the enduring spirit of marginalized communities. It honors the sacred energy found in performance, nature, and the land itself, calling readers to reflect on the stories and voices often silenced or forgotten. This collection is both a tribute and a call to remembrance, richly textured with emotion and history

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9781923435308

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Reviews

Charles Freyberg is an architect of beauty with his stunning nature poems. When he writes about the many mavericks he has been inspired by, he enters the very marrow of their existence. You feel each slice, each kick, each bite. He reveals the beauty and frailty of these larger than life characters. I was lost and found in the throb of his powerful work. - Marguerite Montes, singer and Fierce Violet Mr Freyberg. Kinetic energy weaving words of wonder and ambiguity, channeling the spirit of Oscar Wilde. Brave, visceral, trembling honesty. Words of truth, magical balance. There he stands: Charles Freyberg trailblazer, unique, individual, pure essence of Sydney, when she's on fire, she's on fire. - Paul Capsis, performer Charles Freyberg's third book of poetry is searingly honest and endearingly vulnerable. A master of his milieu, Charles cleverly constructs word pictures that transport you to another place and time, from Les Girls in Kings Cross to lunch with his ancestors in a homestead on stolen land in Queensland. - Deborah Macarthur-Newson, 78er and Queer Activist

Author Information

Charles Freyberg is a celebrated Kings Cross poet and performer known for his vivid, character-rich poetry that explores themes of identity, love, and social change. Beginning his artistic journey in the 1990s as an actor and director, especially alongside surreal clown Victor Sheehan, Freyberg's work evolved through drag shows and performance art. He holds postgraduate credentials in poetry from the University of Sydney under Judith Beveridge's supervision. His poems have been widely published and performed, including at the Sydney Fringe Festival, where his group The Fierce Violets earned a Fringe Award nomination. His acclaimed books include Dining at the Edge, The Crumbling Mansion, and Sacred Remnants. Recognised for contributions to LGBTIQ+ poetry, he received a national award during Mardi Gras 2020. His work has international reach, translated into Spanish and featured in Latin American journals.

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