For Literature I chose Henry Lawson a well renown poet and writer. He wrote prolifically into the 1890s, after which his output declined, in part due to struggles with alcoholism and mental illness. In his writings Lawson presented a parade of the archetypes among bush workers. He cataloged special qualities typifying underprivileged itinerants of Australia’s sheep-raising areas. A brooding quality is generally present, especially in his verse. The tone of his prose is sometimes sad, but his stories are enriched by the easy humorous humanism of the campfire yarn. I chose to depict his poem The Ballard of the Drover in my quilt, I have inclused a link to this poem and a biography of his life.

https://biography.yourdictionary.com/henry-lawson

https://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/lawson-henry/poems/the-ballad-of-the-drover-0002020

I hand stitched a portrait of Henry Lawson and his poem on an old coarse muslin. The coarseness of weave was problematic in trying to keep the letters even. But as a friend commented it is in keeping with his life. Therefore i did the same with the captions.

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