Political satire to honour people’s poet

By Kath Gannaway

The centenary of the publishing of C.J. Dennis’ ‘The Glugs of Gosh’ was marked at this year’s C. J. Dennis Poetry and Short Story Competition weekend with a performance of the highly satirical political work by members of the C. J. Dennis Society.
The weekend of celebrations, held at Dennis’ former home, The Singing Gardens, in Toolangi on 21 and 22 October attracted poetry and short stories from poets of all ages competing in honouring the style of Dennis, ‘the people’s poet’.
Society member and current owner of The Singing Gardens, Jan Williams, noted it is 10 years since the start of the festival.
“Each year we salute the genius who was Den and each year great poets lay their works at his feet,” she said.
Commenting on the quality of the writing, and in particular the inaugural short story award, judge Daan Spijer commended those who took up the challenge.
“It is not easy to tell a story well in only five hundred words, so I was pleased that quite a number of storytellers took the challenge and carried it off,” he said.
The award went to David Campbell for his ‘Constable Og and the Bits and Bobs’, described by Mr Spijer as “ … a clever and very funny extrapolation of Dennis’ tale of a benighted mythical land.”
The festival concluded on the Sunday with Moving Theatre featuring the life and times of Dennis and his contemporaries Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson presented by society members David Campbell, Stephen Whiteside and Jim Brown, along with a delightful presentation by members of the Cathy Ridley Ballet School performing ‘The Glug Quest’.
Mr Brown thanked the Yarra Ranges Community Bank branches of the Bendigo Bank for their sponsorship of the 2017 festival.