The Parish of St Mel's John O'Brien 1954

Dustjacket synopsis:
"Over a quarter of a million copes of John O'Brien's earlier collection of verse, Around the Boree Log, have been published - eloquent proof of the popularity of his writings. For their appeal is directly to the heart: they celebrate the affections of hearth and home, the comradeship, humour, and unaffected piety of life in the bush.

"This second collection, unavalable for some time, will undoubtedly prove as popular as its predecessor, and with its wider appeal may reach and even larger public. Around the Boree Log celebrated the bush church, the bush folk, the humpy, and the horse-drawn vehicle. These still provide the themes for many of the later poems, but other poems, by contrast, belong to the mechanized world of motor-biks, cars, and workshops. John O'Brien speaks with understanding both to the old-timer and to modern youth, for, while his lively and discerning glance takes in the passing show, his heart is with the simple and abiding things that are the same in every generation."

Contents

The Parish of St Mel's
Imelda May
The Durkins
Old Sister Paul
Firin' on the Eight
The Bush P.P.
Little Churches
The Meeting
The Old Home
The Road to Danahey's
When the "Sut" Drops Down
My Curate's Motor-Bike
At Home
Twin Cylinders
Ten-Twelve Shebang
My Curate, Father Con
Sez She
The Kids in the School
The Day th' Inspector Comes
The One-Ton Truck
I Come, Dear Lord, Each Morning
Saffrom Thistles
The Field of the Cloth of Gold
The Kites that We Used to Fly
Sing Me a Song
Sittin' Be the Wall
Cooney's Daughter
Himself and Myself
The Pastor of St Mel's

From the Angus and Robertson hardback edition, 1980.

This page and its contents are copyright © 2003 by Perry Middlemiss, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Last modified: February 1, 2003.