Essay Australian poets and movements
20th century two worlds of the hush world experience, ‘experimental to experiment’ and make it wacky.
Jane Maxfield 2009
20th century Australian poets
Early 20th century poets saw remains of symbolist’s movement and a developing modern era of Australian way and traditions. The land and certain, just ordinary colonial people, were being written about. I think it was an era of; ‘let’s stand on our own’ as in ‘let’s take control of our land’ stand up and be proud. Poetry took a turn in liberation and very modern.
Henry Lawson (1867 to 1922) still wrote poetry in the early 20th century in the colonial period and his poetry expressed early Australian life with bush poetry. His was humorous with his language and bought out real characters of the era.
Another poet that shown Australia of being proud in her poetry was Dorothea Mackellar (1885 to 1968) wrote poetry from her heart about the nature around her life she had good rhythms that had character of her and how sweet she was usually regarded as quintessential bush poet. Her famous poem My Country was a perfect showing of her thoughts, about the land. Her poetry changed after a romance disappointment of marriage, it was more serious with tragic sorrow, and from a socialist movement came Dame Mary Gilmore (1865 to 1962) she was a socialist poet who wrote poems with strong messages, in some of her work, and she wrote about the woman in mind as in Marri’d. A real like pioneer woman she did believe in women’s rights as to writing about the man, as some poems came across like that. Her style is clear and rhyming involved. One of her influences was Henry Lawson.
I think poetry had a little change as new movements came about during the 1930′s to 40′s, and there was much debate of what modern writing was or meant. Two poetry movements emerged in Adelaide, the Jindyworobaks, who encouraged Australian poets/writers to use an Australian language expressing its culture, including the aboriginal culture and dreaming stories. Rex Ingamells was founding member of the jindys and his poetry mostly rhymed and he had patterns. His poetry was smooth reading and he bought out the meaning and description of the land of Australia and the aboriginal life. The Angry Penguins were different, to quote Max Harris, expressed ‘a noisy and aggressive revolutionary modernism’ Max Harris was one of the founding members of the Angry Penguins. His poetry has strong messages and his words are carefully picked—language aggressive. It shouts at you.
Australia Postmodern Era Poetry
In the 1960′s there was a change with much talk about the Generation of 68 and one of them poets John Tranter came about with his poetry when changes were merging into a postmodern era bought up in the country then went on a walkabout, and never went back, he started a whole new life and wrote in the 20th century writing modern poetry and some of his poems were post modern. He experimented as he was a part of that movement ‘Generation 68′ which was a change in society that the modern world in poetry was changing to a postmodern era of unbelief. People may argue about the precise date, though looking in the society of that time the Sixties was different than the fifties or before in poetry. Generation 68 was an era, changes of thought of modern world to a rowdy free speech Vietnam era, the fifties flat boring, the sixties was rock on. John’s poetry reflected postmodern due to society and its way. His style reflected modern stuff and the influence of Generation 68 thinking and there’s other ways with poetry, he was experimental. I found in his poetry modern style and ½ of it was postmodern thinking, so modern and post modern really reflect each other of what the poet was thinking. Another poet, who died of a young age, was Peter Forbes (1950 to 1998) another poet of Generation 68. His poetry was more postmodern thinking. He first published in 1970 and wrote about love and politics. His poetry is easily read and makes you think and he also had a larrikin style with grace. Some of his poetry is a random dialogues’ of political statements. ‘Frank O’Hara and Ted Berrigan are apparent and often referenced influences on Forbes’ work. The latter Forbes claimed helped him escape “the talented earache of Modern/Poetry”. Throughout Forbes’ work references from and allusions to classical, medieval, Modernist and postmodern poetry are carefully wrought and talked into place with a wild and cogent array of the contemporary’. (Brennan) A liberated poet and gay activist, Dorothy Porter (1954 to 2008) was an important poet of this era. Her poetry is carefully written and using strong words, bought out her energy in stating a claim. She wrote in the seventies a time that poetry was being experimental in a way of liberations. Postmodern, I feel was being practice in her poetry. Dorothy had passion in her language and wrote clear and truthful.
References:
http://australia.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=12291
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://jacketmagazine.com/00/home.shtml
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/poetry/
A fantasy of Man, Henry Lawson Complete Works 1901-1922
www.magicdog.com/poems/hons/bintro.pdf
