AustLit

It was Keith McKenry's recounting of bush verse around bushwalking campfires that led to his writing verse for recitation. His search for more material in old poetry books sparked his special interest in Australian folklore. McKenry has chaired UNESCO's Special Committee of Technical and Legal Experts on the Safeguarding of Folklore, was a member of the Commonwealth Committee of Inquiry into Folklore in Australia, and was President of the National Folk Festival 1997-2005. He headed the Commonwealth Government's Arts Branch from 1985 to 1988.

McKenry's work has appeared in a number of newsletters and periodicals. The Australian National Library Oral History collection holds many interviews he has recorded with people such as ecologists, folklorists, folk musicians and related music industry identities. He has recited his verses at receptions in the United Nations in New York and the Australian High Court, performed at concerts, festivals and folk clubs around Australia, and also been recorded by community radio stations.

Together with Alan Scott, McKenry has worked on a National Library of Australia project to produce high quality studio recordings of important but little-known Australian bush songs and poems. Battler's Ballad ([Canberra] : National Library of Australia [and] Fanged Wombat Productions, c1991) and Travelling Through the Storm (Ainslie, ACT : Fanged Wombat, c1996) have been produced to date (2006). He has also written academic articles on recreational use and conservation of wilderness areas.