"The Crane is My Neighbour" (1938) is a poem by Australian poet John Shaw Neilson.
The poem was originally published in the author's poetry collection Beauty Imposes : Some Recent Verse by Angus and Robertson and subsequently reprinted in the author's major collection of poetry (Collected Verse of John Shaw Neilson edited by Margaret Roberts, UWA Publishing, 2012) as well as other poetry anthologies.
Critical reception While reviewing the poet's collection Beauty Imposes in The Argus reviewer G. W. H. notes: "Mr. Neilson has not lost the delicate sureness of touch which gained him his reputation, and this little volume has several exquisite things like "The Crane is My Neighbour," "Sunday Evening," and "Golden Fugitive." Mr. Neilson is as sensitive in his perception as he is in his use of words. It is this oneness in feeling and expression which sets his slight poetic creativeness above the ambitious but semi-articulate projects of many younger writers. In everything he does he is a poet."
In her introduction to the Collected Poems of John Shaw Neilson edited by Margaret Roberts, Helen Hewson wrote: "With the familiar cadence of 'The Lord is my shepherd', 'The Crane is my neighbour' answers a significant question, 'Who is my neighbour?' The question was asked of Jesus by a young lawyer. He answered with the parable of the Good Samaritan, and example of the unconditional love also portrayed in Psalm 23. Neilson's poem has the circular structure of one of the shorter psalms of praise."Collected Poems of John Shaw Neilson edited by Margaret Roberts, 2012. Introduction — "John Shaw Neilson : Songs of Love and Loss" by Helen Hewson, p32
Publication history
After the poem's initial publication in Beauty Imposes : Some Recent Verse it was reprinted as follows:
An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by George Mackaness, Angus & Robertson, 1952 From the Ballads to Brennan edited by T. Inglis Moore, Angus & Robertson, 1964 Australia’s Writers edited by Graeme Kinross-Smith, Nelson Books, 1980 The Collins Book of Australian Poetry edited by Rodney Hall, Collins, 1981 Cross-Country : A Book of Australian Verse edited by John Barnes and Brian MacFarlane, Heinemann, 1984 My Country : Australian Poetry and Short Stories, Two Hundred Years edited by Leonie Kramer, Lansdowne, 1985 Favourite Australian Poems, Child and Associates, 1987 John Shaw Neilson : Poetry, Autobiography and Correspondence edited by Cliff Hanna, University of Queensland Press, 1991 Selected Poems edited by Robert Gray, Angus & Robertson, 1993 Australian Verse : An Oxford Anthology edited by John Leonard, Melbourne University Press, 1998 Hell and After : Four Early English-Language Poets of Australia edited by Les Murray, Carcanet, 2005 The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry edited by John Kinsella, Penguin, 2009 The Puncher & Wattmann Anthology of Australian Poetry edited by John Leonard, Puncher & Wattmann, 2009 Collected Verse of John Shaw Neilson edited by Margaret Roberts, UWA Publishing, 2012
See also 1938 in Australian literature 1938 in poetry
References