[Editor: A review of “Dryblower” Murphy’s book of poetry, Jarrahland Jingles (1908). An extract from “The printed word” column, published in The Sunday Times, 28 February 1909.]
The printed word
“Jarrahland Jingles” are now before the public, and our premier jongleur “Dryblower,” is open to that criticism which he has for over a decade dealt out in a rollicking rhyming way to all and sundry in this corner of the Commonwealth. Already he has received appreciative notices in the Eastern Press, one reviewer describing our colleague as the most facile and clever topical verse-maker in Australia.
There is no doubt he sings with considerable amount of spontaneity, and mixed with his satire there is always a good laugh, and sometimes a little pathos, which never becomes maudlin. It is a chirpy, cheeky, challenging muse, where the sting is always cocooned in melody so to speak.
For pure fun you couldn’t have anything better than “Is It Hot Enough,” or “Pints That I’ve Refused,” while the glamor of the Roaring Nineties is reflected in “Christmas Camp,” “The Men Who Missed the ’Bus,” “The Rhymes Our Hearts Can Read,’’ and other similar songs that carry us back to those wonderful five years from 1892 to 1897. In these “Dryblower” is at his best, and every now and them he strikes a note that touches the heart a wee bit.
Mr. Andree Hayward, editor of the Kalgoorlie “Sun,” contributes a “foreword,” which is really a concise criticism of “Dryblower,” and we recommend all who love good jingle to get a copy of the book, which is published at 2s. 6d.
Source:
The Sunday Times (Perth, WA), 28 February 1909, p. 17
Editor’s notes:
jongleur = a wandering minstrel (also acrobat, juggler, poet, storyteller, and general entertainer) of medieval times
[Editor: Corrected “jonleur” to “jongleur”.]
[Editor: The original text has been separated into paragraphs.]
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