ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Perhaps I had a slight rush of poetic hyperbole.


Matt you've been redeemed from the now generation because you have found poetry.

All the best for the New Year.

We’ve been over this ground before. For example, back in February Vic wrote: “…the people didn't get sick of poetry, they simply rejected the nonsense that the literati and "modern" poets tried to serve up as poetry. I am firmly convinced when someone like a Sassoon, Brooke, Kipling, Paterson or Lawson emerge they will be thoroughly acclaimed and just as popular. We do not have a current Australian Poet Laureate, but when he/she does arrive, it will be because the people appoint and accept him or her.”

Anyway, taking up Vic's point in this thread, I’m happy to play devil’s advocate again and argue that if TMFSR was first published today it would barely cause a ripple outside the bush poetry community. What interest would our coastal-fringe city-dwellers have in the tale of a horseman who rounds up a mob of brumbies in the high country? Why would women want to know about what is essentially a macho male hero-fantasy? What relevance does it have to all our ethnic communities…Italian, Greek, Lebanese, Chinese, Sudanese, Vietnamese etc?

Given the much-discussed difficulty of getting bush poetry into the public arena, exactly how would “the people” hear about it and rise up in support of this new poetic champion?

And, just to hammer the point home, I reckon our own Graham Fredriksen was a much better poet than Paterson. Graham wrote on a broader range of topics, with more depth, skill, versatility, perception and emotion. His The Only War We Had (for example) leaves TMFSR looking like a bit of lightweight romantic fluff.

Graham started writing and publishing almost 20 years ago, so why isn’t his poetry memorised in schools, quoted in speeches, and widely represented in a range of books and magazines? After all, TMFSR became well-known without the all-pervasive help of TV, radio, or the internet, so why have “the people”, using all our modern technology, not made Graham’s poetry universally popular in Australia, and acknowledged overseas?

Today, Banjo Paterson is merely the Paris Hilton of Australian poetry…famous for being famous.

So there’s something to chew over as we pop champagne corks and spend millions of dollars on fireworks to celebrate the transition from one artificial insignificant minute to another artificial insignificant minute!

Cheers
David

PS: With regard to Marty's reference to the Michael Farrell poem, Gregory Day calls it the "standout" poem in the anthology and spends quite some time discussing its merits. It's free verse, so I won't post it here, but if anyone's interested in reading it (A Lyrebird) just pm me.

Some good points there David.

Although perhaps TMFSR became widely known through the help of Mr Archibald's all pervasive Bulletin paper.

Goodness gracious...people have long memories on this site and it is well to remember what you say!
You are absolutely right David, this is an old and tired discussion, but it keeps resurfacing.
I do not want to get into comparing other poets with the Banjo or his work, but when you say he is merely now famous for being famous, I think you may be wrong.
Other poets have written wonderful poems and I wont denigrate them in the slightest, but...they did not write The Man From Snowy River, Clancy of the Overflow or Waltzing Matilda. They did not write The Geebung Polo Club, The Man From Ironbark, The Bush Christening or Father Riley's Horse, they have not written or left a collection of poetry that even today probably outsells all other poetry books every year in this country. I would suggest that AB Paterson was just a little bit better than you say and was certainly in a different class to Paris Hilton.
Banjo is dated, but the point I am trying t make is we have not as yet replaced him. We have come close, but although some have managed some good poetry no one has appeared who has his consistency and natural touch.
When we find a person as talented as Henry Lawson to write on society's problems today, in language the people understand and admire we may see a resurgence of interest in poetry. It has happened so many times before that I am sure it will happen again. I think Bruce Dawe came close, but only close.
Our current problem is we have "poets" who are writing unintelligible nonsense to impress their peers or themselves and the public simply do not want to know. Hence the public, Mr and Mrs Citizen, think of poetry the same way they do of modern art, gibberish, best left alone to the pseudo intelligentsia.

My sense is that if Lawson and Paterson were alive today, they would both be very successful (especially Lawson), but I don't think they would be writing bush poetry. Lawson would probably be writing for TV, and possibly also for the cinema. With a bit of luck, he would have made the transition to writing for the American studios, and achieved the international success he had always craved. Paterson might be a famous newspaper columnist.

If Banjo Paterson were alive today he would be 150 years old and Henry Lawson alive today would be 147 years old, so they would probably be hard pressed to connect to any contemporary issues at all.

But Neville, if they were alive (and presumably still got their full wits) surely they could connect with contemporary issues - it's only when you lose your wits or are dead that you don't - I think.

Considering that there were very few avenues to get their poetry out to the masses I think both Paterson and Lawson did ok.

Can not agree with this statement

" Our current problem is we have "poets" who are writing unintelligible nonsense to impress their peers or themselves and the public simply do not want to know."

unless of course you insert Free Verse Poets in there ! then ya got me.


Bob

Banjo ! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
Australia hath need of thee:


( apologies to Wordsworth )

p.s. last post for 2014.

News flash: Paris Hilton has taken extreme umbrage at being compared to that pseudo celebrity AB Paterson

And Bob, I pride myself on the unintelligible nonsense I can sometimes spew forth - in rhyming couplets too, mind you.