Page:The Collected Verse of A. B. Paterson.djvu/2



First published in 1921, The Collected Verse of A. B. Paterson has won and held a large and varied audience. Since the appearance of The Man from Snowy River in 1895, bushman and city dweller alike have made immediate response to the swinging rhythms of these inimitable tales in verse, tales that reflect the essential Australia.

The bush ballad, brought to its perfection by Paterson, is the most characteristic feature of Australian literature. Even Gordon produced no better racing verse than "The Amateur Rider" and "Old Pardon, the Son of Reprieve"; nor has the humour of "A Bush Christening" or "The Man from Ironbark" yet been outshone. With their simplicity of form and flowing movement, their adventurous sparkle and careless vigour, Paterson's ballads stand for something authentic and infinitely precious in the Australian tradition. They stand for a cheerful and carefree attitude, a courageous sincerity that is all too rare today. And, apart from the humour and lifelikeness and excitement of his verse, Paterson sees and feels the beauty of the Australian landscape and interprets it so spontaneously that no effort of art is apparent. In this he is the poet as well as the story-teller in verse.

With their tales of bush life and adventure, their humour and irony "Banjo" Paterson's ballads are as fresh today as they ever were.