| "Peter Simson's Farm" | |
|---|---|
| by Edward Dyson | |
| Written | 1896 |
| First published in | The Argus |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Publication date | 22 February 1896 |
| Full text | |
 Peter Simson's Farm at Wikisource | |
"Peter Simson's Farm" (1896) is a poem by Australian poet Edward Dyson. [1]
It was originally published in The Argus on 22 February 1896 and subsequently reprinted in a collection of the author's poems, other newspapers and periodicals and a number of Australian poetry anthologies. [1]
The poem tells of the fortunes of Peter Simson as he hacks a farm out of the scrub to make a home for his family. But the arrival of rabbits in the area ruins everything and his once-prosperous farm becomes a wasteland.
While reviewing the poet's collection of poems, Rhymes from the Mines, a reviewer in The Australian Town and Country Journal noted: "Among the 'Other Lines,' those on 'Peter Simson's Farm' and 'The Theoretical Selector' are eloquent of the real conditions of the battle between man and nature, and worthy of the consideration of those who talk lightly of the advantages of 'going upon the land.'" [2]
In a review of The Oxford Book of Australasian Verse edited by Walter Murdoch in The Herald from Melbourne a writer lamented the non-inclusion of some poems. "The more realistic and sinister poetry of the Bush and of the dwellers therein is poorly represented; hut this defect is evidently due to copyright restrictions, and would doubtless have been remedied had the editor been able to draw on Boake and Lawson. As it is, we have one forcible and faithful example of the kind in Edward Dyson's 'Peter Simson's Farm'." [3]
After the poem's initial publication in The Argus it was reprinted as follows:
Edward George Dyson was an Australian journalist, poet, playwright and short story writer. He was the elder brother of illustrators Will Dyson (1880–1938) and Ambrose Dyson (1876–1913), with three sisters also of artistic and literary praise.
"The Man From Ironbark" is a poem by Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson. It is written in the iambic heptameter.
In Defence of the Bush is a popular poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 23 July 1892 in reply to fellow poet Henry Lawson's poem, Up The Country. Paterson's rebuttal sparked the Bulletin Debate, a series of poems by both Lawson and Paterson about the true nature of life in the Australian bush.
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1898.
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1896.
"Bell-Birds" is a poem by Australian writer Henry Kendall that was first published in The Sydney Morning Herald on 25 November 1867.
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.
The Old Whim Horse is a poem by Australian writer and poet Edward Dyson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 30 July 1892, and later in the poet's collection Rhymes from the Mines and Other Lines (1896).
A Mid-Summer Noon in the Australian Forest is a poem by Australian poet Charles Harpur. It was first published in The Empire magazine on 27 May 1851, and later in the poet's collection titled Poems (1883).
The Sick Stockrider is a poem by Australian poet Adam Lindsay Gordon. It was first published in Colonial Monthly magazine in January 1870, although the magazine was dated December 1869. It was later in the poet's second and last poetry collection Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes (1870).
The Teams is a poem by Australian writer and poet Henry Lawson. It was first published in the Australian Town and Country Journal on 21 December 1889. It was later published in the poet's poetry collection In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses in 1896.
Rhymes From the Mines and Other Lines (1896) was the first collection of poems by Australian poet Edward Dyson. It was released in hardback by Angus and Robertson in 1896, but not reprinted until 1973, and then with the title Rhymes From the Mines. It features some of the poet's major early works, including "The Old Whim Horse", "The Rescue" and "The Worked-Out Mine".
The Oxford Book of Australasian Verse (1918) is anthology of poems by Australian and New Zealand poets edited by Walter Murdoch. It was published in hardback by Oxford University Press in London in 1918.
"The Song of Old Joe Swallow" (1890) is a poem by Australian poet Henry Lawson.
"The Old Bush Road" (1892) (aka is a poem by Australian poet Jennings Carmichael.
"Song of the Shingle Splitters" (1874) is a poem by Australian poet Henry Kendall.
"How M'Dougal Topped The Score" (1898) is a poem by Australian poet Thos. E. Spencer.
"A Bushman's Song" (1892) is a poem by Australian poet A. B. Paterson.
Fair Girls and Grey Horses : With Other Verses (1898) is the first collection of poems by Scottish-Australian poet Will H. Ogilvie. It was published in hardback by The Bulletin in Sydney in 1898.
"The Roaring Days" (1889) is a poem by Australian poet Henry Lawson.