The Roaring Days
| "The Roaring Days" | |
|---|---|
| by Henry Lawson | |
| Written | 1889 |
| First published in | The Bulletin |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Publication date | 21 December 1889 |
| Full text | |
 The Roaring Days at Wikisource | |
"The Roaring Days" (1889) is a poem by Australian poet Henry Lawson.[1]
It was originally published in The Bulletin on 21 December 1889, and subsequently reprinted in a collection of the author's poems, other newspapers and periodicals and a number of Australian poetry anthologies.[1]
Critical reception
[edit]When reviewing Lawson's poetry collection In the Days when the World was Wide and Other Verses, a writer in The Evening News (Sydney) noted: "Mr. Lawson is not, indeed, likely to be ever revealed in the character of a master singer, but so far as he goes he is really a minstrel of native fire, and not like a good many who pretend to that character, a merely ingenious imitator or adaptor of other people's ideas."[2]
The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature states that "The Roaring Days" is "a phrase referring nostalgically to the gold rushes. Its best-known literary use is in Henry Lawson's poem, 'The Roaring Days', written from Lawson's boyhood memories of Gulgong and Pipeclay."[3]
Publication history
[edit]After the poem's initial publication in The Bulletin it was reprinted as follows:
- In the Days When the World was Wide and Other Verses, 1900
- Selected Poems of Henry Lawson by Henry Lawson, Angus and Robertson, 1918[4]
- Winnowed Verse by Henry Lawson, Angus and Robertson, 1924[5]
- Selections from Australian Poets edited by Bertram Stephens and George Mackaness, Cornstalk Publishing, 1925[6]
- Australian Bush Songs and Ballads edited by Will Lawson, Frank Johnson, 1944[7]
- An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by George Mackaness, Angus & Robertson, 1952[8]
- A Book of Australian Verse edited by Judith Wright, Oxford University Press, 1956[9]
- New Land, New Language : An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by Judith Wright, Oxford University Press, 1957[10]
- Favourite Australian Poems edited by Ian Mudie, Rigby, 1963[11]
- Silence Into Song : An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by Clifford O'Brien, Rigby, 1968[12]
- Australian Kaleidoscope edited by Barbara Ker Wilson, Collins, 1968[13]
- This Land : An Anthology of Australian Poetry for Young People edited by M. M. Flynn and J. Groom, Pergamon Press, 1968[14]
- Poems of Henry Lawson edited by Walter Stone, Ure Smith, 1973[15]
- The World of Henry Lawson edited by Walter Stone, Hamlyn, 1974[16]
- The Essential Henry Lawson : The Best Works of Australia's Greatest Writer edited Brian Kiernan, Currey O'Neil, 1982[17]
- A Campfire Yarn : Henry Lawson Complete Works 1885-1900 edited by Leonard Cronin, Lansdowne, 1984[18]
- Cross-Country : A Book of Australian Verse edited by John Barnes and Brian MacFarlane, Heinemann, 1984[19]
- The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads edited by Elizabeth Webby and Philip Butterss, Penguin, 1993[20]
- Classic Australian Verse edited by Maggie Pinkney, Five Mile Press, 2001[21]
- Australian Poetry Since 1788 edited by Geoffrey Lehmann and Robert Gray, University of NSW Press, 2011[22]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Austlit — "The Roaring Days" by Henry Lawson". Austlit. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ ""Recent Publications"". The Evening News, 15 February 1896, p4. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature edited by Wilde, Hooton and Andrews, 2nd edition, p591
- ^ "Selected Poems of Henry Lawson (A&R)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Winnowed Verse (A&R)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Selections from Australian Poets (Cornstalk Publishing)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Australian Bush Songs and Ballads (Frank Johnson)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "An Anthology of Australian Verse (George Mackaness)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "A Book of Australian Verse (OUP)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "New Land, New Language : An Anthology of Australian Verse (OUP)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Favourite Australian Poems (Rigby)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Silence Into Song : An Anthology of Australian Verse (Rigby)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Australian Kaleidoscope (Collins)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "This Land : An Anthology of Australian Poetry for Young People (Pergamon Press)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Poems of Henry Lawson (Ure Smith)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "The World of Henry Lawson (Hamlyn)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "The Essential Henry Lawson (Currey O'Neil)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "A Campfire Yarn : Henry Lawson Complete Works 1885-1900 (Lansdowne)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Cross-Country : A Book of Australian Verse (Heinemann)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads (Penguin)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Classic Australian Verse (Five Mile Press)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Australian Poetry Since 1788 (UNSW Press)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2023.