Selected poems

by John Shaw Neilson

John Shaw Neilson was born at Penola, in South Australia, in 1872 and died seventy years later in Melbourne. His education was elementary and inadequate; he lived always, both with his family and as a wanderer, by the sweat of his brow: as a shearer, a farmhand, a quarryman, a roadmender, and, at Yallourn, as a mine worker. His eyesight was poor and he often had to write by candlelight, or even to dictate his verses to some of his tent-mates. Yet this simple, gentle man produced some of Australia's finest and most delicate lyrical poems.
This collection of his work has been assembled by Professor A.R.Chisholm, who also includes an extensive critical and biographical study of the poet in his introduction. It incorporates Collected Poems, first published in 1934, the two subsequent books Beauty Imposes (1938) and Unpublished Poems of Shaw Neilson (1947), and a selection from Witnesses of Spring (1970)

Genres: Poetry

289 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Born to uneducated Scottish immigrants, John Shaw Neilson's father was a self taught poet, and encouraged his son to do the same. As a young man, the self-educated Neilson had verses accepted by The Bulletin - one of the country's most popular magazines - but he was primarily forced to work as a labourer and fruit-picker to earn a living.

It wasn't until his late 40s and 50s that Neilson was able to have his poems published in four collections. By now his health and eyesight were failing, and he began to associate with Melbourne literary circles. The poetry community managed to find him work as a messenger and arrange a literary pension. In his final years, the unwell Neilson was supported by his fellow poets including James Devaney.

Underappreciated in his lifetime, Neilson's lyric poetry was noted after his death in 1942, with various editions being released. His poems were set to music, biographies were written, and a biographical play - "The Pathfinder" - was staged across the country. Neilson's name is now bestowed upon two Australian literary awards, and his collected poems were published in 2012.

Reviews

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

My grade 11 poetry anthology. Some good stuff in here!

[Mykka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't my favorite of poems.