Pickering's salute to the sentimental bloke

by C.J. Dennis (Poet), Larry Pickering (Illustrator)

Larry Pickering, well-known cartoonist and humorist, has been a staunch admirer of C.J. Dennis since his youth. In this book we discover new dimensions to Pickering's capabilities - a collection of unique watercolour drawings that capture the subtle, varying moods of Dennis's poems; indeed, a sensitive salute from one talented Australian to another.

C.J. Dennis was the tagged "The Laureate of the Larrikin" because of the mass popularity of his verse and his poetic use of Australian slang. His The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, first published in 1915, has sold over 300,000 copies - more than any other book of Australian verse. Material in this new selection combines old Dennis favourites with several less familiar but equally endearing ones.

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis, better known as C. J. Dennis, (7 September 1876 – 22 June 1938) was an Australian poet known for his humorous poems, especially "The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke", published in the early 20th century. Though Dennis's work is less well known today, his 1916 publication of The Sentimental Bloke sold 65,000 copies in its first year, and by 1917 he was the most prosperous poet in Australian history.

Together with Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson, both of whom he collaborated with, he is often considered among Australia's three most famous poets.

When he died at the age of 61, the Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons suggested he was destined to be remembered as the "Australian Robert Burns".