The Women of the West

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"The Women of the West" 
by George Essex Evans
Written 1901
First published in The Argus
Country Australia
Language English
Publication date 7 September 1901 (1901-09-07)
Preceded by "Elands River"
Followed by "The World - Our Country"
Read online "The Women of the West" at Wikisource

The Women of the West is a poem by Australian poet George Essex Evans. It was first published in The Argus newspaper on 7 September 1901, [1] and later in the poet's poetry collection The Secret Key and Other Verses (1906).

George Essex Evans Australian poet

George Essex Evans was an Australian poet.

<i>The Argus</i> (Melbourne) former newspaper in Melbourne

The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia that was established in 1846 and closed in 1957. It was considered to be the general Australian newspaper of record for this period. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left-leaning approach from 1949. The Argus's main competitor was David Syme's more liberal-minded newspaper, The Age.

The Secret Key and Other Verses (1906) is the fourth collection of poems by Australian poet George Essex Evans. It was released in hardback by Angus and Robertson in 1906, and features the poems "The Women of the West", "Ode for Commonwealth Day", and "Loraine".

Contents

Poem details

"This poem is dedicated to the pioneering women of the outback who left 'the pleasures of the city and faced the wilderness'. It was written to ensure that their sacrifice would not be forgotten. And what was this sacrifice? Not only did the 'red sun rob their beauty' and “the slow years steal the nameless grace', these women 'faced and fought the wilderness' and the man should be thankful. Evans realizes this and sees all the hard things that life in the bush brought to these women. [2]

Analysis

Reverend M. Lane, in The Catholic Press called this poem "the best-known verse of Essex Evans, who pays a well-deserved tribute to those who faced the wilderness, the everlasting sameness of the never-ending plains, and left behind the roar and rush and fever of the city for the slab-built hut or the tout in the wide, lone bush — the silent, 'han-shunned plans' of the land of the 'Never-never'." [3]

Further publications

An Anthology of Australian Verse (1907) is an anthology of poems edited by Australian critic Bertram Stevens. The editor notes in his introduction that the book is "A selection of published and previously unpublished verse" representative of the best short poems written by Australians or inspired by Australian scenery and conditions of life, - 'Australian' in this connection being used to include New Zealand.'

See also

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

This article presents lists of literary events and publications in 1901.

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1901.

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References

  1. ↑ Austlit - "The Women of the West" by George Essex Evans
  2. ↑ "Australian Bush and Its Dual Presentation by the Two Sexes" by Zuzana Butková, Perspectives magazine, 20 January 2011
  3. ↑ "Sweet Queensland Singer" by Rev. M. Lane, The Catholic Press, 26 June 1924, p5
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