''In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses'' (1896) is the first collection of
poems
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...
by Australian poet and author
Henry Lawson
Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...
. It was released in
hardback
A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...
by
Angus and Robertson
Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...
in 1896, and features the poet's widely anthologised poems "The Free Selector's Daughter", "
Andy's Gone with Cattle", "Middleton's Rouseabout" and the best of Lawson's contributions to
The Bulletin Debate, a famous dispute in ''
The Bulletin'' magazine from 1892-93 between Lawson and
Banjo Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, (17 February 18645 February 1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the ...
.
The collection contains a dedication to
J. F. Archibald and on the title page a sketch by
Frank Mahony of Lawson 'humping his bluey'.
Contents
* "To an Old Mate"
* "
In the Days When the World Was Wide"
* "
Faces in the Street"
* "
The Roaring Days"
* "'For'ard'"
* "The Drover's Sweetheart"
* "
Out Back"
* "The Free-Selector's Daughter"
* "'Sez You'"
* "
Andy's Gone with Cattle"
* "Jack Dunn of Nevertire"
* "Trooper Campbell"
* "
The Sliprails and the Spur"
* "
Past Carin'"
* "The Glass on the Bar"
* "The Shanty on the Rise"
* "
The Vagabond"
* "Sweeney"
* "
Middleton's Rouseabout"
* "
The Ballad of the Drover"
* "Taking His Chance"
* "When the 'Army' Prays for Watty"
* "
The Wreck of the 'Derry Castle'"
* "Ben Duggan"
* "
The Star of Australasia"
* "
The Great Grey Plain"
* "
The Song of Old Joe Swallow
"The Song of Old Joe Swallow" (1890) is a poem by Australian poet Henry Lawson.
It was originally published in '' The Bulletin'' on 24 May 1890 and subsequently reprinted in several of the author's other collections, other newspapers and peri ...
"
* "Corny Bill"
* "Cherry-Tree Inn"
* "
Up the Country"
* "Knocked Up"
* "
The Blue Mountains"
* "
The City Bushman
''The City Bushman'' is a poem by iconic Australian writer and poet Henry Lawson. It was first published in '' The Bulletin'' magazine on 6 August 1892, under the title ''In Answer to "Banjo", and Otherwise''. It was the fourth work in the Bul ...
"
* "Eurunderee"
* "Mount Bukaroo"
* "
The Fire at Ross's Farm"
* "
The Teams"
* "Cameron's Heart"
* "
The Shame of Going Back"
* "Since Then"
* "Peter Anderson and Co."
* "When the Children Come Home"
* "Dan, the Wreck"
* "A Prouder Man Than You"
* "The Song and the Sigh"
* "The Cambaroora Star"
* "After All"
* "Marshall's Mate"
* "
The Poets of the Tomb
''The Poets of the Tomb'' is a poem by Australian writer and poet Henry Lawson. It was first published in '' The Bulletin'' magazine on 8 October 1892 in reply to fellow poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson's poem, '' In Answer to Various Bards. ...
"
* "
Australian Bards and Bush Reviewers"
* "
The Ghost"
Critical reception
A reviewer in ''The Evening News'' (Sydney), on the original publication, noted that "What is best in Mr. Lawson's verse is its genuine local color, to employ a much misused but, in this case, strictly appropriate, phrase. Where he is strongest, most picturesque, and most poetical, he is unmistakably Australian — a man really influenced by his surroundings, and expressing himself in that natural way which is essential to the production of a true poetic note of any kind.
In the ''Australian Town and Country Journal'' the reviewer concluded that "What Kipling has done for "Tommy Atkins" in the great Indian colony, Lawson has done for the silent wanderer on the dreary Australia plains, giving voice to many a dumb heart, and translating its unbroken emotions into verse in such songs as "A Prouder' Man than You," "The Shame of Going Back," "Since Then." and "Sez You.""
"New Publications", ''Australian Town and Country Journal'', 22 February 1896, p8
/ref>
See also
* 1896 in Australian literature
* 1896 in poetry
References
{{Henry Lawson
Poetry by Henry Lawson
Australian poetry collections
1895 poetry books
Angus & Robertson books