Wikipedia

Faces in the Street

"Faces in the Street" (1888) is a poem by Australian poet Henry Lawson.[1]

"Faces in the Street"
by Henry Lawson
Written1888
First published inThe Bulletin
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Preceded by"Andy's Return"
Followed by"The Blue Mountains"
Full text
Faces in the Street at Wikisource

It was originally published in The Bulletin on 28 July 1888.[2] It was subsequently reprinted in several of the author's other collections, other newspapers and periodicals and a number of Australian poetry anthologies.[1]

Critical reception edit

A writer in The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature comments: "Written in a stirring rhythm from the perspective of a person whose 'window-sill is level with the faces in the street', the poem focuses on the flotsam and jetsam of the city who pass by from before dawn until after midnight."[3]

In reviewing the author's collection In the Days When the World was Wide and Other Verses a writer in The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) noted: "'Faces In the Street,' 'For'ard,' and 'The Cambaroora Star' touch questions of social reform. Or perhaps it would be better to say that they show the author's sympathy therewith, since he merely rails against the visible wrongs that now exist without seeming to have a constructive policy."[4]

Publication history edit

After the poem's initial publication in The Bulletin it was reprinted as follows:

  • In the Days When the World was Wide and Other Verses by Henry Lawson, Angus and Robertson, 1900
  • Selected Poems of Henry Lawson by Henry Lawson, Angus and Robertson, 1918[5]
  • Freedom on the Wallaby : Poems of the Australian People edited by Marjorie Pizer, Pinchgut Press, 1953[6]
  • Favourite Australian Poems edited by Ian Mudie, Rigby, 1963[7]
  • Poems of Henry Lawson edited by Walter Stone, Ure Smith, 1973[8]
  • The World of Henry Lawson edited by Walter Stone, Hamlyn, 1974[9]
  • The Bulletin, 29 January 1980[1]
  • The Collins Book of Australian Poetry edited by Rodney Hall, Collins, 1981[10]
  • The Essential Henry Lawson : The Best Works of Australia's Greatest Writer edited Brian Kiernan, Currey O'Neil, 1982[11]
  • A Campfire Yarn : Henry Lawson Complete Works 1885-1900 edited by Leonard Cronin, Lansdowne, 1984[12]
  • The Illustrated Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Beatrice Davis, Nelson, 1984[13]
  • My Country : Australian Poetry and Short Stories, Two Hundred Years edited by Leonie Kramer, Lansdowne, 1985[14]
  • The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads edited by Elizabeth Webby and Philip Butterss, Penguin, 1993[15]
  • The Illustrated Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Beatrice Davis, State Library of NSW Press, 1996[16]
  • 200 Years of Australian Writing : An Anthology edited by James F. H. Moore, VDL Publications, 1997[17]
  • Harbour City Poems : Sydney in Verse 1788-2008 edited by Martin Langford, Puncher and Wattman, 2009[18]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Austlit - "Faces in the Street" by Henry Lawson". Austlit. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  2. ^ Lawson, Henry (1888). "Faces in the Street". The Bulletin. 9 (443): 17 – via TROVE.
  3. ^ The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature edited by William Wilde, Joy Hooton and Barry Andrews, Oxford University Press, 1986, p247
  4. ^ ""In the Days When the World was Wide"". The Daily Telegraph, 15 February 1896, p9. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Selected Poems of Henry Lawson (A&R)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Freedom on the Wallaby (Pinchgut Press)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Favourite Australian Poems (Rigby)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Poems of Henry Lawson (Ure Smith)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  9. ^ "The World of Henry Lawson (Hamlyn)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  10. ^ "The Collins Book of Australian Poetry (Collins)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  11. ^ "The Essential Henry Lawson (Currey O'Neil)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  12. ^ "A Campfire Yarn : Henry Lawson Complete Works 1885-1900 (Lansdowne)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  13. ^ "The Illustrated Treasury of Australian Verse (Nelson)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  14. ^ "My Country : Australian Poetry and Short Stories, Two Hundred Years (Lansdowne)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  15. ^ "The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads (Penguin)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  16. ^ "The Illustrated Treasury of Australian Verse (SL of NSW Press)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  17. ^ "200 Years of Australian Writing (VDL Publications)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Harbour City Poems : Sydney in Verse 1788-2008 (Puncher and Wattmann)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
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