I love finding old anthologies and collections of poetry, and discovering what they offer as well as seeing what children of the past were offered.
I came across an anthology called This Land on ebay and just had to have it. When it came I was amazed to discover that it was the same age as me (wasn’t I cute?) and my beautiful gold teddy.
The anthology is filled with poems by poets whose works I grew up with – CJ Dennis, Colin Thiele, Banjo Paterson, Dorothea Mackellar and more, as well as others I was less familiar with. There’s lots to like her, though in some ways the collection shows its age, with some colonial overtones that (thankfully) have not stood the test of time, and a massive imbalance in representation of female poets.
Anway, back to the poems. I thought I’d share one to give you a taste, and chose one randomly by the letting the page fall open.
Joi the Glug
By CJ Dennis (1876-1938)
The Glugs abide in a far, far land
That is partly pebbles and stones and sand,
But mainly earth of a chocolate hue,
When it isn’t purple or slightly blue.
And the glugs live the with their aunts and wives.
In draught-proof tenements all their lives.
And they climb the trees when the weather is wet,
To see how high they can really get.
Pray, don’t forget,
This chiefly done when the weather is wet.
(Read the rest of the poem here – it’s longish, but worth it).
What I love about this poem is that it seems nonsense and lots of fun, but as you read further it emerges that it is also a comment about unquestioning conformity. CJ Dennis was one my favourite poets as a child – and I think I’ll share some more of his work in future posts, but in the meantime, if you haven’t read his work, look him up!
This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by Laura Salas. Do drop by and see what other poetry goodies have been posted around the blogosphere.
Have a great Friday!
Thank you Sally for sharing a bit of Australia with us for Poetry Friday! That picture is so so sweet, as is the teddy. And the glugs! It immediately made me think of Muggles. Maybe J.K. Rowling read this poem? 🙂
Thanks Irene. Yes, the glugs and the muggles have a lot in common don’t they?
I love it that we have international representation in our Poetry Friday roundups (waving from across oceans and continents)!
I was glad to find one Glug willing to buck the tide!
Thanks Mary. There should be more Joi’s in the world!
You were an adorable child. Your bear is nearly as sweet. I’m foolishly fond of the Guffer Bird, too. I hope you won’t mind if I say how remarkably Suess-like the poem is. I’m so glad that female poets are more represented these days.
Thanks for the kind words, Brenda. I’m not nearly so cute, now 🙂 Interesting you’re not the only commentor to note the similarity to Seuss, which is something I hadn’t thought about. He predated Seuss by quite some way, and I guess having grown up with both the similarity hadn’t occured to me.
That picture of you is adorable! Thanks for sharing this poem. I’m not a huge fan of older anthologies of children’s poems, but then I always find a few gems when I look through one:>)
I agree – there can be a lot of outdated dross, but there are always gems, which is what I love.
Love the pic of you and your teddy. CJ Dennis is totally new to me. Enjoyed reading the poem.
Thanks Jama.
Wow. I’m impressed he stayed consistent throughout. It has quite a jaunty little rhythm to it. Love the link to you and your teddy. 🙂
Thanks Kat and thanks for visiting.
What a great poem–worth the long read, as you pointed out! Thanks so much for sharing. If you hadn’t identified the Australian author, I would have guessed American Seuss (enthnocentric?). Wonder if Seuss’ mother, who read him lots of books, might have introduced him to that poem/poet. I checked Dennis’ dates, and it is possible, since his work predated Seuss’. Anyway, hooray for Joi! I surely can use an injection of his singleminded spunk; while the rest of his clan was safely up a tree, he was going out on a limb, without ever climbing. I love it! God bless you! Thanks again for sharing.
Funnily, though I love both seuss and Dennis, the similarity hadn’t really struck me. I wonder if Seuss was exposed to any of Dennis’ work. He was very prolific, and though not all of his work had this nonsense element to it, a lot did. Thanks for giving me food for thought.
Thank you for sharing this book and the words of a poet I have not read!
And thanks for visiting Holly.