Darlinghurst Funeral Rites is a collection of poems by the writer andjournalist Mark Mordue. It's also a song cycle that takes the reader on ajourney through Mark's experiences in the Sydney post-punk music scene of the1980s. It begins with his arrival in the big city, his immersion in the cultureand the spirit of the times, his deep contact with bands, art and films as aleading rock journalist of the era, the corresponding hedonism and bohemianismthat characterised iconic suburbs like Newtown, Surry Hills and Darlinghurst, andthe disintegration of that world as a relationship ends and drugs, disillusionand displacement overtake people's lives. The nature of the book is effectivelya Dante-esque journey though Sydney in the post-punk 1980s. As such it is botha personal and a cultural history of the times: a creative history andinternalised autobiography of a now mythical era.