Kenneth Slessor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kenneth Adolf Slessor (March 27, 1901–June 30, 1971)[1] was an Australian poet and journalist. He is one of Australia's leading poets, notable particularly for the absorption of modernist infuences into Australian poetry.
Contents |
[edit] Life
Slessor was born in Orange, New South Wales.[1]
[edit] Career
He made his living as a newspaper journalist, mostly for the Sydney Sun, and was a war correspondent during World War II (1940 – 1944).[1] Slessor counted Norman Lindsay, Hugh McCrae and Jack Lindsay among his friends.
The bulk of Slessor's poetic work was produced before the Second World War. His "Five Bells", relating to Sydney Harbour, remains probably his best known poem, followed by "Beach Burial", a tribute to Australian troops who fought in World War II.
In 1965, Australian writer Hal Porter wrote of having met and stayed with Slessor in the 1930s. He described Slessor as
a city lover, fastidious and excessively courteous, in those qualities resembles Baudelaire, as he does in being incapable of sentimentalizing over vegetation, in finding in nature something cruel, something bordering on effrontery. He prefers chiselled stone to the disorganization of grass".[2]
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Poetry Collections
- Thief of the Moon (1924)
- Earth-Visitors (1926)
- Cuckooz Contrey (1932)
- Darlinghurst Nights (1933)
- Funny Farmyard (1933)
- Five Bells: XX Poems (1939)
- One Hundred Poems, 1919-1939 (1944)
[edit] Essays/Prose
- Bread and Wine (Sydney, 1970)
[edit] Edited
- Australian Poetry (1945)
- The Penguin Book of Modern Australian Verse (Melbourne, 1961)
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c MS 3020 Papers of Kenneth Adolf Slessor (1901-1971). National Library of Australia. Retrieved on d2007-08-31.
- ^ Porter (1965) p. 40
[edit] References
- Porter, Hal (1965) "Melbourne in the Thirties" in London Magazine, 5(6): 31-47, September 1965
[edit] External links
- Some of Slessor's songs — songhunter.com
- profile of Slessor — John Tranter
- National Library of Australia - Papers of Kenneth Adolf Slessor (1901-1971)
- Slessor, Kenneth Adolf (1901 - 1971) Australian Dictionary of Biography on-line edition (Retrieved 13 August 2007)
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Slessor, Kenneth |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Slessor, Kenneth Adolf |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Australian poet and journalist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 27, 1901 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Orange, New South Wales |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 30, 1971 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
