The tales we never hear. Troedel Co., Melbourne n.d. [1893 ?] Broadsheet. 8" × 5"

Component identifier:

Item 8

Content Summary:

This poem won the first prize for Junior Poem on any subject at the A.N.A. Literary Competitions, 1893. Entered under the pseudonym "Donovan Blair". According to Frank Neilson, his father's poem, which won the Senior Prize, was entered under the pseudonym "Eucalyptus".

This may be Neilson's first separate publication but according to him it was not his first appearance in print. Writing in his Autobiography: "When my eyes got better I tried to write verses and stories. I got eight lines of rhyme into The Leader". Encouraged by his father he kept on writing stories and sketches but finally reached the conclusion that he could not write prose. "I think the inability to write either decent prose or verse had a good deal to do with my low spirits about this time. I was in my 19 year when the rhyme in The Leader appeared." Frank Neilson has written that his brother's earliest poem was written in 1889: "Lines Written to Baby Neilson - died in 1889". This poem, based upon the usual household warning not to wake the baby, begins "Baby's Asleep". (This note by Frank Neilson is in Southerly, Item 54.)

With this are two autograph letters from Frank Neilson to James Devaney, written at the time when the latter was working on his biography of Shaw Neilson. Frank Neilson was reluctant to allow Devaney free access to the Shaw Neilson Notebooks, and explains that his brother had a poor opinion of the earlier verses and was always disinclined to discuss them. He considers that Devaney attaches too much value to them. Eventually the Notebooks were made available and Devaney made an excellent book from much of their contents which appeared as Unpublished Poems, and from which Frank Neilson received the royalties. In addition to discussion of the Notebooks, Frank Neilson makes references to Tales We Never Hear. The poem was excluded from all Neilson's books.

All the above items tipped into quarter leather folder.

Names:

John Shaw Neilson

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