Australian World War I poetry

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The Great War produced a large number of Australian poets. Both men and women, soldiers, nurses, civilians and even children wrote poetry about the war. There were five main arenas where Australian Great War Poetry was written in the period of 1914 to 1939: the Home Front, Gallipoli, The Middle East, The Western Front and England. Australian poets weren't as well established as their British counterparts, [1] however, in their poetry, they too expressed humorous, melancholy, anger or longing for home. Many Australian servicemen, for example, wrote about the Australian flora, and how they missed it.

Contents

Soldiers

Many poets served in more than one campaign, while others only served in one, either joining up after Gallipoli, or being invalided back home or killed in action. A small listing of Australian Great War Poets can be seen below.

Nurses

Civilian men

Civilian women

There were a number of woman poets, however, they garnered less attention and have been largely loss to time. [5] Their works were often published in newspapers or in small numbers. [5] Mary Gilmore is considered arguably the most well-known of them. [5]

Foreign pro-Australia

Prediction poets

Henry Lawson [3] [ps 23] and William Wentworth to name only two. There are several.

References

  1. ↑ Laird, J. T. (1 May 1970). "Australian Poetry of the First World War: A Survey" . Australian Literary Studies. 4 (3). doi:10.20314/als.fc3d80e223.
  2. ↑ Westbrook, Frank E. (ND) Anzac and After. Duckworth and Co: London
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Poems From The War". State Library of Queensland. 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Manuel, Jacqueline (2020). "We are the women who mourn our dead: Australian civilian women's poetic responses to the First World War". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Sullivan, Jane (2023-07-21). "Meet the Australian women who wrote World War One poetry – from home". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  6. ↑ "State Library Victoria: Songs of the Last Crusade". State Library Victoria. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  7. ↑ "Sonnet of Welcome". The Herald. No. 13, 791. Victoria, Australia. 25 May 1920. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2022– via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ Ed. by Strauss, Jennifer (2004) The Collected Verse of Mary Gilmore, Vol. 1 1887 – 1929. University of Queensland Press: Brisbane

Primary sources

  1. ↑ Gellert, Leon (1917) Songs of a Campaign. Angus & Robertson: Sydney
  2. ↑ Skeyhill, Tom (ND) Soldier Songs from Anzac. George Robertson & Company: Melbourne
  3. ↑ Manning, Frederic (1917) Eidola. E.P. Dutton and Company: New York
  4. ↑ Trooper Gerardy (1919) Australian Light Horse Ballads and Rhymes. H.H. Champion Australian Authors’ Agency: Melbourne
  5. ↑ Wall, Geoffrey (1917) Songs of an Airman. Australian Authors’ Agency: Melbourne
  6. ↑ Turner, W.J. (1918) The Dark Fire. Sidgwick & Jackson: London
  7. ↑ McDonald, W.M. (ND) Soldiers Songs from Palestine. Edward A. Vidler: Melbourne
  8. ↑ Bonwick, C.E. (1917) Diary of Australian Army Nurse Christine Erica Strom. (NP): (NC)
  9. ↑ Dennis, C.J. (1916) The Moods of Ginger Mick. Angus & Robertson: Sydney & Dennis, C.J. (1915) The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke. Angus & Robertson: Sydney
  10. ↑ Brennan, Christopher (1918) A Chant of Doom and Other Verses. Angus and Robertson: Sydney
  11. ↑ Lawson, Henry (1916) Song of the Dardanelles and Other Verses. George G. Harrap & Company: London
  12. ↑ Le Gay Brereton, John (2012) 73 Poems. PoemHunter.com – The World’s Poetry Archive: (NC)
  13. ↑ Nelson, Leonard (1918) Dinky-Di Soldier and Other Jingles. Tyrrell’s Limited: Sydney
  14. ↑ Rose-Soley, Agnes (1923) Stray Chords. Tyrrell’s Limited: Sydney
  15. ↑ Littlejohn, Agnus (July 1915) Patriotic Poems. (NP): (NC) & Littlejohn, Agnus (Jan 1915) Lyrical Poems. Harry Gorton: Sydney & Littlejohn, Agnus (1916) War Poems. Vale & Pearson: Sydney
  16. ↑ Gore-Jones, A. (1917) Troop Trains and Other Verses. G. Hassell & Son: Adelaide
  17. ↑ McCrae, Dorothy Frances (ND) The Clear Call. George Robertson & Company: Melbourne & McCrae, Dorothy Frances (ND) Soldier my Soldier! George Robertson & Company: Melbourne
  18. ↑ Torrance, Joan (ND) Sons of the Southern Sea. Francis, Day & Hunter: London
  19. ↑ Murdoch, Nina (1915) Songs of the Open Air. William Brooks & Co.: Sydney & Murdoch, Nina (1922) More Songs of the Open Air. Robertson & Mullens: Melbourne
  20. ↑ Betts, Margery Ruth (1917) Remembering and Other Verse. Australian Authors’ Agency: Melbourne
  21. ↑ Kidson, May (1918) Memory’s Voices. Returned Serviceman’s Association: Perth
  22. ↑ Robertson, Philadelphia N. (ND) An Anzac Budget and Other Verses. Australian Authors’ Agency: (NC)
  23. ↑ Lawson, Henry (1916) Song of the Dardanelles and Other Verses. George G. Harrap & Company: London
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