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The Spider from the Gwydir single work   poetry   humour   "By the sluggish River Gwydir lived a vicious redback spider,"
  • Author:agent W. T. Goodge http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/goodge-w-t
Issue Details: First known date: 1976... 1976 The Spider from the Gwydir
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First line of verse: "By the sluggish river Gwydir lived a hungry red-backed spider"
Alternative title: The Spider by the Gwydir
First line of verse: "By the sluggish river Gwydir lived a handsome redback spider"
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Penguin Book of Australian Humorous Verse Bill Scott , Ringwood : Penguin , 1984 Z408517 1984 anthology poetry humour Ringwood : Penguin , 1984 pg. 201-202
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Australian Poetry Since 1788 Geoffrey Lehmann (editor), Robert Gray (editor), Sydney : University of New South Wales Press , 2011 Z1803846 2011 anthology poetry (taught in 1 units) 'A good poem is one that the world can’t forget or is delighted to rediscover. This landmark anthology of Australian poetry, edited by two of Australia’s foremost poets, Geoffrey Lehmann and Robert Gray, contains such poems. It is the first of its kind for Australia and promises to become a classic. Included here are Australia’s major poets, and lesser-known but equally affecting ones, and all manifestations of Australian poetry since 1788, from concrete poems to prose poems, from the cerebral to the naïve, from the humorous to the confessional, and from formal to free verse. Translations of some striking Aboriginal song poems are one of the high points. Containing over 1000 poems from 170 Australian poets, as well as short critical biographies, this careful reevaluation of Australian poetry makes this a superb book that can be read and enjoyed over a lifetime.' (From the publisher's website.) Sydney : University of New South Wales Press , 2011 pg. 90-91
    Note: With first line: By the sluggish river Gwydir
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Best Australian Yarns : And Other True Stories Jim Haynes , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2013 6695586 2013 selected work prose

    'Best Australian Yarns is a substantial and definitive collection of factual and fanciful Aussie stories, humour and anecdotes–the result of decades of researching popular Aussie culture and history and yarning to mates and other colourful characters from all parts of Australia and all walks of life.

    'This collection includes tall stories from the bush, reminiscences from the racetrack and shearing shed, railway yarns, stories from the world of show business, Aboriginal legends and humour, digger yarns from both world wars, ghost stories, monsters, bunyips and yowies... and many things you never knew about our amazing history and the characters who made it–the pioneers, heroes, convicts, bushrangers, eccentrics and brave and forgotten men and women whose fascinating lives and achievements created the Aussie spirit that we all love.

    'While the stories range from poignant to hilarious, many simply describe unusual coincidences, strange occurrences or simple everyday humorous events with a refreshing understatement that vividly evokes a vanishing Australia where looking for a good laugh was a key component of a cheekier national character and a simpler lifestyle.' (Publisher's blurb)

    Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2013
    pg. 259
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