C. J. (Clarence James) Dennis

Born in Auburn, South Australia, in 1876, C. J. Dennis became one of Australia’s most popular poets of the early twentieth century. He worked as a journalist and writer, and built a wide readership with lively verse that mixed comedy, sentiment, and the rhythms of ordinary speech.

His best-known book, The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke (1915), was a major success and made him famous. Readers were drawn to the warmth and wit of his writing, and to the way he captured Australian slang and working-class life. He also wrote other well-known works including The Moods of Ginger Mick and The Glugs of Gosh.

Dennis married Margaret Herron in 1917 and spent much of his later life in Victoria. He died in 1938, but his poems remain closely tied to the sound and character of Australian popular literature.