A Treasury Of Colonial Poetry. Early Australian And New Zealand Poems, Bush Ballards And Songs

Cover Type: Hardcover
Book Condition: Good
Jacket Condition: Good
Publisher: The Currawong Press
Publisher Place: Australia
Publisher Year: 1982
Edition: Reprint

Description: 315 pages. Book and Jacket are both in Good condition. There is some light shelf and reading wear, but still a presentable copy. The only exception is a small inscription to the inside page.

Publishers Description: A Treasury of Colonial Poetry is a rich collection of verse that echoes the dreams, the nightmares, and the realities of Australian and New Zealand colonists as they edged towards the 20th Century and nationhood. The poetry was vigorous, romantic, and often sentimental, but above all it was entertaining and easily-read. It remains so today. Perhaps more so now that it evokes the nostalgia of history.If some of the colonial bards were grandiloquent, the best-loved were the balladists who could spin a good yarn. Paterson and Lawson, who created enduring folklore in the 1890s, need no introduction to Australians. And what New Zealander can resist the thumping tattoo of Thomas Brackens tributes to Maori warriors and beleaguered settlers.More than 40 poets are represented in this volume, that includes more than 200 poems, bush ballads and songs. The styles and subjects are as varied as the period, which stretches from the convict Barringtons cheeky prologue to Wentworths passionate plea for nationhood.The poets were men and women who were gradually learning to love the lonely lands they had feared might destroy them. Patriotism developed grand dreams of self-determination, though it had to overcome a longing ache for the Old Country and a glory in the Empire. But the colonial poets were not preoccupied with politics. They could laugh and sing as well as they cheered and wept. They make refreshing reading.The verse is illustrated with occasional period lithographs.

ISBN: 0908001347