Lost in the Bush single work   poetry   "Lost in the Bush! the night approaching fast,"
  • Author:agent Charles Harpur http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/harpur-charles
Composed: Singleton, Singleton area, Hunter Valley, Newcastle - Hunter Valley area, New South Wales,
Issue Details: First known date: 1842... 1842 Lost in the Bush
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All Publication Details

First line of verse: "Lost in the Bush! the night encroaching fast,"
Notes:
Comprises 97 lines.
Notes:
Comprises 115 lines.
Notes:
Author's note: The rough draft of this poem was originally published in the Australasian Chronicle, and was in substance much as it appears above, with the exception of a couplet introduced here and there, and the four lines about the curlews, which were thrown in on the following occasion. Mr. Thrum of Singleton, and myself, had been pigeon-shooting at the back of Castle Forbes, and being overtaken by the night, as we were returning homeward, he observed that the aspect and circumstances of the surrounding scene answered in many respects to my Lost in the Bush. At that moment, a number of curlews began to muster in the dim glades about us, and send forth their "ominous" seeming cries with a wild and startling effect : and in reply to his remark, I said : But hark! I omitted to notice those strangely discordant gentlemen--the poem is so far incomplete. The lines descriptive of their peculiar nocturnal orgies were immediately upon the "Muse's anvil," and had, ere we reached home, the approval of my companion, as a finishing stroke to the performance. I have noted this circumstance, thus at length, to show, inferentially, the observant heed I have been in the habit of bestowing upon all my poetical pictures of Bush matters. C. H.
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Empire no. 1967 27 April 1857 Z1732306 1857 newspaper issue 1857 pg. 6
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Poetical Works of Charles Harpur Charles Harpur , Elizabeth Perkins (editor), Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1984 Z459555 1984 selected work poetry satire 'This collection represents one version of almost every poem written by Charles Harpur, with the omission of some translations and paraphrases. The verse drama, "Stalwart the Bushranger", and the fragments of the dramatic poem "King Saul" are not included. ... The collection is edited from Harpur's manuscript poems held in the Mitchell Library, Sydney, and from printed copies in colonial newspapers when no manuscript version existed.' (Preface) Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1984 pg. 200-204
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon A Storm in the Mountains and Lost in the Bush Charles Harpur , Canberra : Mulini Press , 2006 Z1416004 2006 selected work poetry Canberra : Mulini Press , 2006 pg. 13-16
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Australian Poetry Since 1788 Geoffrey Lehmann (editor), Robert Gray (editor), Sydney : University of New South Wales Press , 2011 Z1803846 2011 anthology poetry (taught in 1 units) 'A good poem is one that the world can’t forget or is delighted to rediscover. This landmark anthology of Australian poetry, edited by two of Australia’s foremost poets, Geoffrey Lehmann and Robert Gray, contains such poems. It is the first of its kind for Australia and promises to become a classic. Included here are Australia’s major poets, and lesser-known but equally affecting ones, and all manifestations of Australian poetry since 1788, from concrete poems to prose poems, from the cerebral to the naïve, from the humorous to the confessional, and from formal to free verse. Translations of some striking Aboriginal song poems are one of the high points. Containing over 1000 poems from 170 Australian poets, as well as short critical biographies, this careful reevaluation of Australian poetry makes this a superb book that can be read and enjoyed over a lifetime.' (From the publisher's website.) Sydney : University of New South Wales Press , 2011 pg. 14-17
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