On Completing a Book single work   poetry   "My Work is finished that has been to me"
  • Author:agent Charles Harpur http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/harpur-charles
Issue Details: First known date: 1851... 1851 On Completing a Book
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

The first publication of this poem, in the Empire (5 September 1851): 2, is accompanied by an article 'Native Literature' commenting on the first of a series of lectures entitled Modern English Poetry delivered by Daniel Denhiey at the Mechanics School of Arts, Sydney, New South Wales, 2, 9, 16 September and 25 November 1851. The author of the article, unattributed but possibly by the editor of the Empire, Henry Parkes, notes: '... an important work in the shape of a series of poems 'Wild Bee of Australia' - is now ready for publication. The quality, of this work ... may readily be gathered from the following sonnet.'

Notes

  • This poem appears in a number of versions from 1851 onwards. For further details, see The Poems of Charles Harpur in Manuscript in the Mitchell Library and in Publication in the Nineteenth Century: An Analytical Finding List by Elizabeth Holt and Elizabeth Perkins (Canberra: Australian Scholarly Editions Centre, 2002).

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: Sonnet on Completing 'The Wild Bee of Australia'
First line of verse: "My work is finish'd, that hath been to me"
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Empire no. 201 5 September 1851 Z1858089 1851 newspaper issue 1851 pg. 2
    Note:

    With title: Sonnet on Completing 'The Wild Bee of Australia'
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Empire no. 761 20 June 1853 Z1721673 1853 newspaper issue 1853 pg. 2
    Note: With title: On Completing a Book
  • 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. 417
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Works about this Work

Native Literature 1851 single work column
— Appears in: The Empire , 5 September no. 201 1851; (p. 2)

This column praises the poetry of Charles Harpur. The column comments on the first of a series of lectures entitled Modern English Poetry delivered by Daniel Denhiey at the Mechanics School of Arts, Sydney, New South Wales, 2, 9, 16 September and 25 November 1851, and Harpur's completion of '... an important work in the shape of a series of poems 'Wild Bee of Australia' ... now ready for publication.'
Native Literature 1851 single work column
— Appears in: The Empire , 5 September no. 201 1851; (p. 2)

This column praises the poetry of Charles Harpur. The column comments on the first of a series of lectures entitled Modern English Poetry delivered by Daniel Denhiey at the Mechanics School of Arts, Sydney, New South Wales, 2, 9, 16 September and 25 November 1851, and Harpur's completion of '... an important work in the shape of a series of poems 'Wild Bee of Australia' ... now ready for publication.'
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Last amended 7 May 2012 10:10:23
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