ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

One of the other themes I was going to mention was one that I can see that you have mentioned in some way in your second post, Manfred. That was the reflective poem where someone is looking back on a life lived (the dying stockman, swagman, bushman, etc). I know that it was one of those themes that I had thought had been done to death. I can remember seeing two poems written on such themes that won competitions in a short space of time between them. Both seemed pretty unremarkable to me - it inspired me to satirise the theme in my poem, "A Bushman Slowly Dying".

Interestingly enough, the ballad form is possibly as old as the sonnet - one of the oldest ballads discovered was written in the 13th century. Due to their popularity in oral tradition, many were not recorded on paper and this has made the form very hard to trace back to its origins.

I would agree with you that the story needs to be told well and that all of the elements needed to make a good story need to be there for the form to succeed. It certainly doesn't hurt to think outside the square when it comes down to picking the themes to avoid too much sameness. At the end of the day, if you can say that your poems are different to those that others are writing, you are probably on the right track.

Goodonya Peely ... the "Dying Stockman/ etc", fits into the 'Hero Takes a Journey" theme ...

Maureen K Clifford wrote:The cat sat on the mat is still going strong I hear in some circles

I've seen that as the "Versifying for Free-versers and Other Bombastic Frauds 101" course somewhere Mausie ...

Such is life Matt.

Very good points Peely, very well thought out.

I think you might mean The Cat in the Hat, Maureen.

Manfred, I think that sonnets are a great art form. I have a book of them from old to modern. I am not sure how they could relate to bush poetry because in my limited study and knowledge, sonnets appear to be more private meditations, whereas bush poetry seems to favour public performance, sonnets seem a bit intimate for public display. And they are only 14 lines, bush poetry seems to favour the epic. Of course, I could be wrong.

There is one form which I think could be very suitable for some bush poetry and that is the Villanelle.
The reasons I think that the villanelle could be suitable for bush poetry are ; 1. It is in rhyme and metre, usually a set pattern. 2. Villanelle means a country dance, so it has its origins in the rural or rustic life. 3. Because of its repetitions, it is a form suitable for nostalgia or memorial, which are common themes in bush poetry. 4. AND villanelles are popular among the contemporary poetry practitioners ( building bridges and all that )
The drawback is that villanelles are only 19 lines. Far too short for the bravura display of verbiage required for bush poetry competitions.

Just a thought.

Oh how much help would it be to emerging poets to have judges comments!

I had a great poem that was being overlooked in written competition. Somehow, (I don't remember how) I got hold of a judges comment. I changed one word and won the next competition it went into. I know how impossible it would be for judges to comment on all entries but surely the $10 being asked by some comps is a little bit high. I would willingly pay $5 but $10 is beyond my means.

As to the different structure, I have had success with a poem that had no end rhymes at all. (All the rhymes were internal) I think it may be up to the judges to encourage innovation or variation. Perhaps a mention of this can be included in the general overview of the report that most judges provide to the committee ( or club) who are holding the competition.

I see a lot of parallels between writing poems and writing songs. Many songs have a chorus, and there is no reason - to my mind - why a poem cannot have a chorus, either. Some songs even have a 'bridge' between the verses and the chorus, and I have written at least one poem with a 'bridge'.

I find it much easier to have a more complex rhyming structure if the poem is short, or I am telling a simple story. The longer or more complex the story, the more inclined I am to revert to a simpler poetic structure.

Poems are a bit like cars. Flashy European cars are great for short trips around the city, but you want a real workhorse if you're deciding to head up the Hume Highway.

I am sure people are well and truly sick of me talking about C. J. Dennis (I know my family are!), but it seems to me he is the one poet who can write long, complex poems. The main reason why more people don't do it, I think, is because it is so difficult!