Dust-jacket Synopsis
In 2026, the 150th anniversary of C J Dennis marks a major moment of rediscovery.
Australia’s most popular poet, Dennis sold over 700,000 books and published more
than 4,000 poems, creating enduring characters such as The Sentimental Bloke, Doreen
and Ginger Mick, giving voice to Australians shaped by war and its aftermath.
Less widely recognised is his role in shaping Australia’s culture of remembrance.
He wrote of the war in The Moods of Ginger Mick, of its aftermath in Digger Smith,
and from 1922 to 1938 marked Anzac Day and Armistice Day each year in the Melbourne
Herald, recording how the Anzac story was remembered as the men of the AIF aged and a
new generation inherited their story.
This is the first collection to bring together his Anzac poetry from 1908 to 1938,
including classic verse alongside 44 Anzac Day and Armistice Day poems never before
collected in one volume, these works have not been republished since their original
appearance in the Melbourne Herald.
Presented chronologically, the collection offers a rare record of how the Anzac legacy
evolved from the immediacy of war to a broader sense of Australian identity. It captures
the spirit and sacrifice of those who served, and the passing of their story into national
memory. Featuring a foreword by General Sir Peter Cosgrove, The Anzac Legacy of C J Dennis
affirms Dennis as a defining voice in Australia’s Anzac story.
‘A powerful and deeply human record of the Anzac story, captured as it was lived and remembered.’ ‘Across three decades, Dennis recorded not just a war, but how a nation came to remember it.’
Contents
From Big Sky Publishing hardback edition, 2026.