ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Sorry, Bob, I thought you were being facetious. As the ABPA definition of bush verse is poetry that's "metred and rhymed", what are we left with if we don't pay too much attention to metre? If I'm judging a competition and I don't "focus so much" on metre, how lax can I be? Take, for example, the following:

A mob of kangaroos, a few wild camels, and a great big flock of sheep
came to a billabong that was deep,
but were scared away rather quickly when they heard
the voice of the old swaggie singing mournfully like a very sick bird.

It rhymes, it's written pretty much as we speak, but the metre is a dog's breakfast. So, in your opinion, is it bush poetry?

The big challenge with bush verse is to follow the rules of metre and rhyme and still make the language sound natural.

Cheers
David

I have stolen a few minutes to spy on you all....just enough time to say...How fortunate are we to have the valuable observations & gentle guidance/teaching of a premier poet ie. David Campbell here on our little site? He's just gotta be a busy man, but here he is on a regular basis.
Thank you David...you're a legend........

I second that motion - Hell! I'll even third it.

Congratulations David,

On yet another first place. I was asked to do the honours for the Yass Show Poetry Competition and received over 50 entries in the written section. Your very beautiful poem 'Voices' (with no name on it naturally) was my selection for first place. After delivering the results I asked Robyn who were the authors of the winning poems. I love it when the names of the winner shows that I really do know good poem when I read one.

Hot on your heels were Brenda Joy and Greg North. The cream will always rise to the top!

Thank you Glenny, Maureen and Zondrae...your very generous words are greatly appreciated and will be a terrific pick-me-up on those days when the poetry gods aren't exactly smiling!

Cheers
David

I agree with Glenny
David has passed on a great deal of sound advice; he's certainly had me rethinking a few things and looking back over the odd poem.
So thanks David, I can assure you your efforts have been much appreciated - and hopefully not wasted.

Terry

Thanks, Terry. It’s hard to know what’s useful and what isn’t, for, in the final analysis, it’s just my opinion. What works for me isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. So I just put it out there and hope for the best.

Writing is a strange occupation. If I’m helping someone with mathematics, I can show him or her exactly how to solve a problem and that technique can then be transferred to anything similar. But the very personal nature of poetry makes it very different. One person’s meat and drink is another’s poison.

I’ve related this anecdote before, but it’s worth repeating. The very first short story I entered in a competition (back in 1999) didn’t win a cash prize but it was short-listed in the top ten out of over 1200 entries. However in the next nine (much smaller) competitions it picked up a solitary Commended award, before finally winning a second prize of $100 in the tenth. And all that happened before I became involved in bush poetry in 2002 and free verse in 2004.

So I learnt from the beginning about the uncertainty of writing for competitions. You can never take a positive result to mean you’ve reached a destination…only that you’re heading somewhere vaguely in the right direction. So you keep faith in your own ‘voice’, constantly test the edges of your comfort zone, and forge ahead. It’s a fascinating process, a challenging mix of frustration and exhilaration.

Cheers
David

"constantly test the edges of your comfort zone"

Great advise for any facet of life.

Goodonya David, your words are always worth tuning into.

Marty

Thanks, Marty. "The pen is mightier than the surd!" (Old mathematical saying.)

David