A return trip to a North Queensland tip shop has resulted in the discovery of more interesting books which belonged to the late Winifred Whittle, deeply interested in elocution and plays , acting . ( See recent Little Darwin post SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE TIPSY ACTRESS IN BANANALAND . )
In the case of the above one, bottom/left, entitled ONE VOICE , an anthology of poems in English from far and near, selected by Ian V. Hansen , published by Edward Arnold , London , l967, its cover was designed from photographs taken during readings of poetry produced and directed by Dennis Duerden, which were a feature of the l965 Commonwealth Arts Festival in Great Britain, attended by poets from the Far East, India, Pakistan, East and West Africa, Australia , New Zealand and Great Britain.
It includes the works of Australian poets James McAuley (Terra Australis ), Nancy Cato (Independence) , Vance Palmer (The Snake- killing of ), A. B. Paterson (The Geebung Pony Club), Douglas Stewart ( three - dealing with the world of silkworms, a lady feeding cats, an ancient rock carving ) , Val Vallis ( Two Wharves ,old and new ) , Judith Wright , who also beat a snake to death , two pieces ; during her life she campaigned to save the Great Barrier Reef and for Aboriginal land rights.
Winifred Whittle apparently paid close attention to the book because it has much underlining, marking and learned comment in and around various poems, an example above ,which at first glance could be mistaken for one by a Pommie mispronouncing Australia , calling it something like Orstralia.
In fact , it is Ozymandias , the Greek name for Rameses ll of Egypt , the title of a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, IRONY in large letters ,in the left margin, standing out .
An interesting aspect of her notations, which include ticking of words, interpretation of flowery language used by famous poets, is that she used her knowledge of elocution to indicate the rhythm , metre and rhyme of some of the verses .
Her treatment of a poem entitled Bat by D. H. Lawrence, inspired by bats he saw flying about in Italy, is memorable . Winifred liked Lawrence's description of a bat's flight as being like a glove thrown up to light and falling back .
However, when he went on to say flying bats were creepy, she pencilled in the explanation: " frantic jerky movement , devoid of grace."
Seems she was also impressed with his lines ... Wings like bits of umbrella and Hanging upside down like rows of disgusting old rags.
The very next poem in the book is about a poor bat carried in by a cat ,by English poet Ruth Pitter.
In a Wilfred Gibson poem about coalminers in the north of England racing Whippets ,there are penned in comments that men and places were ugly- but the Whippets, dogs, were beautiful.
Canadian poets received much attention by Winifred . Anne Marriott 's Prairie Graveyard which touched on the tough life for man and beast, including poor gophers , is marked up in pencil . Beavers Pond is the name of another Marriott piece that received attention.
In a poem about a bull calf by Canadian Irving Layton his description of a river which "snuffled on" on a beach , the words were crossed out and replaced with " lapping at".
The Shooting of Dan McGrew by American Robert W. Service did not attract any verbal or literary fire from Winifred .
How Whittle's books got to North Queensland is still a mystery , but Sherlock Holmes is following up a few leads, one from another book found at the tip shop .
