In Defence of the Bush

In Defence of the Bush is a popular poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 23 July 1892 in reply to fellow poet Henry Lawson's poem, Up The Country. Paterson's rebuttal sparked the Bulletin Debate, a series of poems by both Lawson and Paterson about the true nature of life in the Australian bush.

In Up The Country, Lawson had criticised "The City Bushman" such as Banjo Paterson who tended to romanticise bush life. Paterson, in turn, accused Lawson of representing bush life as nothing but doom and gloom,Henry Lawson: Australian Writer Australian Government Culture and Recreation Portal famously ending with the line "For the bush will never suit you, and you'll never suit the bush." Wikisource article - In Defence of the Bush by Banjo Paterson

Publication history After its original publication in The Bulletin magazine on 23 July 1892 the poem was later reprinted in the following collections and anthologies:

The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses, 1895 The Collected Verse of A. B. Paterson : Containing 'The Man from Snowy River', 'Rio Grande' and 'Saltbush Bill, M.P.' , 1921 Singer of the Bush, A. B. (Banjo) Paterson : Complete Works 1885-1900 edited by Rosamund Campbell and Philippa Harvie, 1983 The Penguin Book of Australian Satirical Verse edited by Philip Neilsen, Penguin, 1986 Banjo Paterson's Poems of the Bush, J. M. Dent, 1987 The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads edited by Elizabeth Webby and Philip Butterss, Penguin, 1993 The Collected Verse of Banjo Paterson edited by Clement Semmler, Viking, O'Neill, 1993

See also

1892 in poetry 1892 in Australian literature Australian literature

References