Books@Stones event: The Anzac Legacy of CJ Dennis (150th Anniversary) by Darryl Stuart

Join us on Thursday 15 October, 6:30pm for a special Books@Stones event with Darryl Stuart, editor The Anzac Legacy of CJ Dennis (150th Anniversary).

To mark the 150th anniversary of CJ Dennis, Darryl Stuart has launched cjdennis.com.au and set about collecting and curating Dennis’s entire body of work as an online resource. This exercise led to the discovery of Dennis’s lost Anzac poetry and thus “The Anzac Legacy of CJ Dennis” was curated for a new audience to discover and enjoy.

CJ Dennis – the Laureate of the Larrikin

Born in South Australia in 1876, CJ Dennis became Australia’s most popular poet, selling over 500 000 books of poetry in his lifetime. Dennis was famous for his use of the vernacular (slang) spoken by millions of Australians at that time. Using this language Dennis’s verse stories captured the humour, romance, and struggles of everyday life and thus his epithet ‘The Laureate of the Larrikin’. He portrayed working-class Australians with the dignity and virtues more often attributed to a more genteel class or elite, giving voice to our distinctive national character.

He gave us quintessential Australian characters like The Bloke, Doreen and Ginger Mick. His best known work, “Songs of The Sentimental Bloke” (1915) sold more than 300,000 copies in his lifetime. Between 1915 and 1985 the Bloke’s story was reprinted over 60 times and released as two feature films, two stage plays, three musicals, two ballets and an opera.

Departing from his vernacular style in 1917 he wrote the satirical Glugs of Gosh, a Lewis Carrol like commentary on Australia’s lazy efforts, selling natural resources only to have to buy back the manufactured products. In 1921 he wrote perhaps his most influential work, A Book for Kids. This more than any other book is responsible for our unprompted awareness of Dennis in the 21st Century. Generations of Australians can still recall iconic children’s poems like Hist, The Traveller, The Ant Explorer, and The Triantiwontigongolope.

Between 1922 and 1938 Dennis wrote for the Melbourne Herald (and other publications), contributing over 3,000 poems observing Australian life and commenting on national events. He was acknowledged as an unofficial Australian Poet Laureate.

The Book – A Forgotten Anzac Legacy Rediscovered

This collection of C J Dennis’s poetry commemorates the 150th anniversary of his birth in 1876, curating the previously unrecognised contribution C J Dennis made to our Anzac legacy. Dennis was a significant voice in the development of Australia’s culture of remembrance during and after the Great War. Poems from his popular 1916 book The Moods of Ginger Mick chronicled events during the war whilst the poignant Digger Smith detailed the experience of soldiers returning to their families and communities.

The book also includes 44 (lost) poems published in the Melbourne Herald between 1922 and 1938, written each year for Anzac Day and Armistice Day. Presented chronologically, they are a time lapse record, as our Anzac legacy evolved from respect for the men of the AIF to a wider sense of Australian identity and values shared by the whole community. They also capture the aging of the ANZAC’s and the passing of their story to a new generation.

These poems together form an important collection that speaks to our heritage, tradition and culture of remembrance. With a Foreword by General Sir Peter Cosgrove, The Anzac Legacy of CJ Dennis affirms Dennis as a defining voice in Australia’s Anzac story.

All royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to Legacy Australia.

About the Editor

Darryl Stuart grew up in North Queensland before entering the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1977. He served for 20 years in the Royal Australian Army, during which time he became an ardent collector and advocate of CJ Dennis’s work. Following a 25 year entrepreneurial business career, he is retired to Brisbane and Stanthorpe.

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All our events are free to attend, but bookings are required as seats are limited.