y separately published work icon The Complete Book of Australian Verse selected work   poetry   satire  
Issue Details: First known date: 1989... 1989 The Complete Book of Australian Verse
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Notes

  • Each poem is written under a pseudonym (e.g. Rabbi Burns, Thomas the Tank Hardy).

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Notes:
A Susan Haynes book
Notes:
Illustrated by Jenny Coopes
Notes:
Also published as a sound recording.
Notes:
A selection of poems from this book is included in "A Dagg at My Table"
    • North Sydney, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 1989 .
      Extent: vii, 56p.p.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 0043012957

Works about this Work

John Clarke, Tinker-Poet Robert Phiddian , 2019 single work criticism
— Appears in: Comedy Studies , vol. 10 no. 1 2019; (p. 102-118)

'Clarke’s poetic output was never the main game, but he was persistent in developing the (entirely self-authored) Complete Book of Australian Verse (39 poems; Clarke, 1989) through two intermediate versions culminating in the 2012 edition of Even More Complete Book of Australian Verse (68 poems). This article addresses the central characteristics of Clarke’s art through the voice, timing and rhythm of these parodic poems. They illustrate the sort of parody discussed in ‘Are parody and deconstruction secretly the same thing?’ (Phiddian, 1997 and subsequent work). Clarke’s own favoured word for his writing practice, tinkering, suits such carefully wrought pieces well, and fits with more expansive notions of parody as critical and creative refunctioning of models rather than as narrow lampoons. Through intimate imitation and distortion, they display a guarded, sometimes hostile, affection and a jagged nostalgia both for their poetic vehicles and for the Australian subject matter. Clarke always inhabits the words of others in his Australian work, speaking via parodic deflection. This contrasts with the Daggy directness of his New Zealand work. Was he only ever a visitor in Oz? Was the parodic reserve a necessary carapace against the sort of fame that he fled in the 1970s? This article reads the poems as a window onto the distinctive rhythms of Clarke’s writing and his complexly ironic relationships with both his homeland and his adopted nation. His resistance of 'the voice direct' made him a wry and knowledgeable visitor and offers an abiding challenge to Australianness.'

Source: Abstract.

Dagg's Bag i "John Clark's Book of Australian Verse", Geoff Page , 1990 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 February 1990; (p. B4)
A Daggy Dose of Verse Evan Jones , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 6 January 1990; (p. 7)

— Review of The Complete Book of Australian Verse John Clarke , 1989 selected work poetry
Forward : Pressing the Point: It's Profit or Penury Elizabeth Swanson , 1990 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian Magazine , 6-7 January 1990; (p. 6)
Realms of Gold Murray Bramwell , 1989 single work review
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , December no. 70 1989; (p. 31)

— Review of The Complete Book of Australian Verse John Clarke , 1989 selected work poetry
Realms of Gold Murray Bramwell , 1989 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Review , November no. 18 1989; (p. 13)

— Review of The Complete Book of Australian Verse John Clarke , 1989 selected work poetry
Fred Dagg Hits Out, Once More Mike Kent , 1989 single work review
— Appears in: The Northern Territory News , 21 October 1989; (p. 21)

— Review of The Complete Book of Australian Verse John Clarke , 1989 selected work poetry
The Jokes Just Get Verse and Verse Michael Sharkey , 1989 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian Magazine , 18-19 November 1989; (p. 8) The Poetic Eye : Occasional Writings 1982-2012 2016; (p. 211-213)

— Review of The Complete Book of Australian Verse John Clarke , 1989 selected work poetry
Realms of Gold Murray Bramwell , 1989 single work review
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , December no. 70 1989; (p. 31)

— Review of The Complete Book of Australian Verse John Clarke , 1989 selected work poetry
A Daggy Dose of Verse Evan Jones , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 6 January 1990; (p. 7)

— Review of The Complete Book of Australian Verse John Clarke , 1989 selected work poetry
Dagg's Bag i "John Clark's Book of Australian Verse", Geoff Page , 1990 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 February 1990; (p. B4)
Forward : Pressing the Point: It's Profit or Penury Elizabeth Swanson , 1990 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian Magazine , 6-7 January 1990; (p. 6)
John Clarke, Tinker-Poet Robert Phiddian , 2019 single work criticism
— Appears in: Comedy Studies , vol. 10 no. 1 2019; (p. 102-118)

'Clarke’s poetic output was never the main game, but he was persistent in developing the (entirely self-authored) Complete Book of Australian Verse (39 poems; Clarke, 1989) through two intermediate versions culminating in the 2012 edition of Even More Complete Book of Australian Verse (68 poems). This article addresses the central characteristics of Clarke’s art through the voice, timing and rhythm of these parodic poems. They illustrate the sort of parody discussed in ‘Are parody and deconstruction secretly the same thing?’ (Phiddian, 1997 and subsequent work). Clarke’s own favoured word for his writing practice, tinkering, suits such carefully wrought pieces well, and fits with more expansive notions of parody as critical and creative refunctioning of models rather than as narrow lampoons. Through intimate imitation and distortion, they display a guarded, sometimes hostile, affection and a jagged nostalgia both for their poetic vehicles and for the Australian subject matter. Clarke always inhabits the words of others in his Australian work, speaking via parodic deflection. This contrasts with the Daggy directness of his New Zealand work. Was he only ever a visitor in Oz? Was the parodic reserve a necessary carapace against the sort of fame that he fled in the 1970s? This article reads the poems as a window onto the distinctive rhythms of Clarke’s writing and his complexly ironic relationships with both his homeland and his adopted nation. His resistance of 'the voice direct' made him a wry and knowledgeable visitor and offers an abiding challenge to Australianness.'

Source: Abstract.

Last amended 2 Feb 2006 10:06:21
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