ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

I recently had the good fortune to come across the original pencil-written manuscript of C.J. Dennis' popular poem "An Old Master", written in 1910.

You can find details on my website, here:

http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au/orig ... -j-dennis/

http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au/an-o ... s-1-and-2/

http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au/an-o ... s-4-and-5/

http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au/an-o ... s-6-and-7/

http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au/an-o ... -9-and-10/

http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au/an-o ... 11-and-12/

http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au/an-o ... 13-and-15/

http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au/an-o ... -verse-16/

Thank you to David Campbell for making a number of helpful suggestions and further corrections.

Fascinating stuff, Stephen! It's amazing how these things can lie around "undiscovered" for years and then pop up unexpectedly.

Thanks so much for sharing.

Cheers
Shelley

Absolutely! Thanks, Shelley.

Obviously an historic cultural artefact. It is very interesting that Dennis put a lot of effort into revision, we should keep that in mind when we admire how Dennis found just the right words. It takes effort

True enough, Neville.

Really interesting Stephen - thank you! And Neville, what you say is so true... 'Revise, revise, revise'.

Although, in this word-processing age, when we can change things so easily, it's also interesting to see how much he didn't alter. Quite clearly, he had many lines fully formed in his mind as he wrote them. I wonder how many of us could produce such a relatively 'clean' hand-written version of a poem.

David

Not me, David, that's for sure. I have a working exercise book in which I jot my drafts. I'm afraid if it was "found" in an attic by Stephen, he would really be puzzled by the endless crossing-out and cryptic chicken-scratch!!! I think it would be destined for the recyling rather than the museum!!

I remember a stage play called "Banjo the Man" with Barry Crocker - it came to our Town Hall when I was first married (yes, many years ago). In the play some bloke (I think it was Breaker Morant, from memory) came up to Banjo at a bar and tried to quiz him about what poetry composition methods he used.

Banjo replied: "I use the waste paper method. When I have filled the bin with my botched attempts, I reckon what I've got is about as good as I'll get."

It might be apocryphal, but it's a great line!!

Cheers, Shelley

Thank you, Catherine.

Yes, that's a good point, David.

I think we can all relate to that, Shelley!