C. J. Dennis

The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke (Dodo Press) C. J. Dennis

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis, better known as C. J. Dennis, (1876- 1938) was an Australian poet famous for his humorous poems, especially The Sentimental Bloke, published in the early 20th century. At the age of 19 he was employed as a solicitor's clerk. It was while he was working in this job that, like banker's clerk Banjo Paterson before him, his first poem was published. He later went on to publish in The Bulletin, as Paterson and Henry Lawson had also done. The three are often considered Australia's three most famous poets; though Dennis's work is less well known today, his 1916 publication of The Sentimental Bloke sold 65,000 copies in its first year, and by 1917 he was the most prosperous poet in Australian history. The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke and numerous spinoffs published subsequently related the everyday adventures of the title character Bill, his girl Doreen, his friend Ginger Mick, and other characters. The poems are written in dialect, and present the Sentimental Bloke as a typical larrikin.