ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Think I may have previously mentioned that Robert W Service is one of my favourite poets, but the more I learn about him the more I am amazed.
He was probably the most financially successful poet of all time and I recently read where his first book, he wrote many, Songs of a Sourdough, sold an estimated three million copies and is still selling well today. This makes it the most successful book of poetry published in the twentieth century.
His classic poem, The Shooting of Dan McGrew made him at least five hundred thousand dollars while he was alive, he died in 1958, and I should think has made at least that much again since his death.
I believe his writing had an impact on the Australian balladists (he was well known and popular in this country) and I believe I often catch a glimpse of his style when reading some of the older Australian poets.
Unfortunately his work is not now well known in this country apart from perhaps "Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee" but I really do recommend his poetry as being worth a good read.

Vic Jefferies

Vic, I'm interested to hear that DM made more money than SM. I've always thought SM was a much more enjoyable poem. The ending of DM has always puzzled me.

I've always thought of Service as the Canadian poet who was born in Scotland and died in France! But I guess the northern hemisphere is like that - much easier to move around.

Do you think he influenced our poets, or they were just all part of the same worldwide movement? Do you have any hard evidence of his influence? (I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just curious.) Also, do you think our poets might also have influenced him?

And what about the relationship between Service and Jack London? Was there one, do you know?

For some reason I always thought SM was his most successful poem. I thought I read something by him to that effect - expressing regret that his first poem was his most successful, despite the fact that he followed it with several thousand others!

I must admit, I do find a lot of his poems just too long.

I also have a lasting memory of reading his account of starving in an attic in Paris towards the end of his life, trying to find a coin for a morsel to eat. It seemed an incredible way for his life to end, but he was probably his own worst enemy. I suspect he was determined to live off his scribblings, too proud to take on some form of manual labour. Then again, I may just have been consuming some fantasy he chose to serve up. I've never read his biography. Do you know much about his life?

G'day Stephen,
Robert W Service was in fact born in Lancashire England to Scottish parents. He was educated in Glasgow and was one of ten children.
He went to Canada when he was twenty one and traveled widely between that country and the USA before taking a job in a bank at Whitehorse in the Yukon where he eventually wrote his first book The Songs of a Sourdhough which was an immediate success and went on to sell three million (now probably many more) copies.
It was a close run thing but The Shooting of Dan Mcgrew was written about a month before the Cremation of Sam McGee though both appeared in The Songs of a Sourdough.
Apparently he relied on the tales of old timers for the subject matter of his poems as by the time he had reached the Yukon the gold rush and pioneering days had passed.
In about 1912 Service left Canada and eventually settled in France where he lived and successfully wrote a number of books and also served as an ambulance driver and stretcher bearer in the first world war. He wrote a book of poetry (the excellent) Rhymes of a Red Cross Man based on his experiences. He lived in France writing poetry and some novels until the outbreak of the second world war when he returned to Canada.
He returned to France after the war and died there in 1958 and I believe he was still a very wealthy man.
Don't know of any connection with Jack London though I think his poetry was compared to London's tales of the frozen north.
I do not have any concrete proof of his having influenced Australian poets but I know that his poetry was very popular here in the twenties and the thirties and I believe I have detected similarities to his style in some Australian poems (though don't ask me to nominate them!)
Have to agree about the ending of Dangerous Dan but that's the one that has made the most dough.
I agree many of his poems are very long but if you care to have a look at The Rhymes of a Red Cross Man you will find some very good stuff albeit terribly jingoistic by today's standards.
He has a couple of brilliant very brief poems My Madonna and The Twins spring to mind.
There are heaps of web sites devoted to him and I suggest you have a look at them as well as his poems that are listed there.

Vic Jefferies

Thanks for correcting my errors and filling in my gaps, Vic. I have a few Service books, and they are absolute treasures - for different reasons.

I have a 1910 edition of 'Songs of a Sourdough'. It is the most beautiful maroon coloured hard back book, with gold patterning and printing on the cover. I also have a 1913 edition of a sister volume, 'Ballads of a Cheechako'. I say 'sister' because it is also the same maroon and gold - a beautiful pair.

I also have the much more prosaic 'Collected Poems of Robert Service' published in 1956. It is a much bigger book with a pale blue cloth cover. It's nothing much to look at, but is a treasure because it is so comprehensive.

Finally, I have an illustrated version of 'The Cremation of Sam McGee' - illustrated by Ted Harrison, published by Kids Can Press in 1986. It was given to me by a Canadian friend. If you don't have a copy, it's definitely worth chasing. It's like a children's book, with big, bold, bright pictures, and in a large format.

And that's my Service collection. How about you?

G'day Vic, I was introduced to Robert W Service some years ago & really enjoy his poems.

G'day David glad you enjoy Service. The more you read the more you marvel at his ability and his writing.
Stephen, my prize Service book is a first edition copy of The Rhymes of a Red Cross Man dedicated to Robert's brother who died in the first world war in 1916. The book was published the same year.
Otherwise I have copies of The Songs of a Sourdough, Ballads of a Cheechako and his collected works. You have made me envious with the description of the books you have!
You may find it interesting that Service claimed The Shooting of Dan McGrew came to him during a single night as later did The Cremation of Sam McGee.
He was never accepted as a poet by the literati and indeed never described himself as such preferring to say he wrote verse that the ordinary man would identify with and enjoy. Sound familiar?
However, I feel that there is a great deal of pure poetry contained within his verse (if that makes sense.)
I recently recited the Ballad of Blasphemous Bill at the Gosford Bush Poets and was amazed at how many people had never heard of Service, which I suppose is what has prompted this post.

Vic Jefferies

I seem to remember you reciting a very powerful Service piece at the NFF a couple of years ago?