"Black Swans" is a poem by Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson (Andrew Barton Paterson).

It was first published in The Sydney Mail on 22 July 1893, as by "A. B. P", and subsequently reprinted in the author's poetry collections and other poetry anthologies.

Critical reception In reviewing the poet's collection The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses a reviewer in The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) noted that while Paterson is best known for his poems of men of the bush he is also capable of producing "reflective and imaginative poems", such as this one.

Reviewing the same volume The Australian Town and Country Journal called the poem "one of the best that Mr. Paterson gives us", and The Sydney Mail wrote that in this poem, among others, "one finds the authentic transcript of the moods of inland Australia, the life of her people, and some times in their own words."

Publication history After its original publication in The Sydney Mail the poem was later reprinted as follows:

The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses, by A. B. Paterson, Angus and Robertson, 1895 An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens, Angus and Robertson, 1907 The Golden Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens, Angus and Robertson, 1909 Silence Into Song : An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by Clifford O'Brien, Rigby, 1968 The Collected Verse of A. B. Paterson : Containing 'The Man from Snowy River', 'Rio Grande' and 'Saltbush Bill, M.P.''', Angus and Robertson, 1982 Singer of the Bush, A. B. (Banjo) Paterson : Complete Works 1885-1900 edited by Rosamund Campbell and Philippa Harvie, Lansdowne, 1983 Cross-Country : A Book of Australian Verse edited by John Barnes and Brian MacFarlane, Heinemann, 1984 Banjo Paterson’s Poems of the Bush, J. M. Dent, 1987 A Vision Splendid: The Complete Poetry of A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson, Angus and Robertson, 1990 A. B. (Banjo) Paterson : Bush Ballads, Poems, Stories and Journalism edited by Clement Semmler, University of Queensland Press, 1992 Banjo Paterson : His Poetry and Prose edited by Richard Hall, Allen & Unwin, 1993 The Collected Verse of Banjo Paterson edited by Clement Semmler, Viking O'Neill, 1993 Banjo Paterson Treasury'' by A. B. Paterson, Random House, 2013

See also 1893 in Australian literature

References