Crawford was born in the Sydney suburb of Doonside in what was in then the Colony of New South Wales, the son of Robert Crawford senior, and was educated at The King's School, Parramatta, and the University of Sydney. Crawford settled on a farm as his forefathers had done, but not being successful, became a clerk in Sydney and afterwards had a typewriting business. Some of Crawford's poems were published in The Bulletin and other periodicals. Crawford is believed to have been the first prize-winning haiku poet published in Australia, in The Bulletin on 12 August 1899.[1] In 1904 a small collection, Lyric Moods:Various Verses, was published in Sydney. An enlarged edition was later published in Melbourne retitled simply Lyric Moods (1909).[1] In 1921 another volume, Leafy Bliss, was published, and an enlarged edition appeared three years later.
Not a great deal is known about Crawford; he was short of stature, poetical in spirit. He mixed little in literary circles and seems to be forgotten a few years after his death. The statement that he was educated at The King's School originally appeared in The Bookfellow, and may have come direct from Crawford. If so there is no reason to doubt it, yet in the records of The King's School of his period the only R. Crawford is listed as Richard Crawford. It was also not possible to identify him positively with the Robert James G. W. Crawford who graduated B.A. at the University of Sydney in 1912, when the poet was about 44 years of age. Crawford is represented in some of the anthologies, and A. G. Stephens thought highly of his work. His work has a delicate charm and, though at times one fears it will not rise above merely pretty verse, in some of his quatrains and lyrics Crawford does succeed in writing poetry of importance. Perhaps, as Stephens once suggested, he may be better appreciated in the 21st century.
Crawford died suddenly at Lindfield, New South Wales on 13 January 1930.
robert, crawford, australian, poet, scotsman, robert, crawford, scottish, poet, robert, crawford, october, 1868, january, 1930, australian, poet, robert, crawfordborn, 1868, october, 1868doonside, colony, south, wales, australiadied13, january, 1930, 1930, age. For the Scotsman see Robert Crawford Scottish poet Robert Crawford 29 October 1868 13 January 1930 was an Australian poet Robert CrawfordBorn 1868 10 29 29 October 1868Doonside Colony of New South Wales AustraliaDied13 January 1930 1930 01 13 aged 61 Lindield Sydney AustraliaOccupationPoetLanguageEnglishNationalityAustralianAlma materUniversity of SydneyYears active1898 1930 Contents 1 Biography and career 2 Poetry collections 3 References 4 External linksBiography and career editCrawford was born in the Sydney suburb of Doonside in what was in then the Colony of New South Wales the son of Robert Crawford senior and was educated at The King s School Parramatta and the University of Sydney Crawford settled on a farm as his forefathers had done but not being successful became a clerk in Sydney and afterwards had a typewriting business Some of Crawford s poems were published in The Bulletin and other periodicals Crawford is believed to have been the first prize winning haiku poet published in Australia in The Bulletin on 12 August 1899 1 In 1904 a small collection Lyric Moods Various Verses was published in Sydney An enlarged edition was later published in Melbourne retitled simply Lyric Moods 1909 1 In 1921 another volume Leafy Bliss was published and an enlarged edition appeared three years later Not a great deal is known about Crawford he was short of stature poetical in spirit He mixed little in literary circles and seems to be forgotten a few years after his death The statement that he was educated at The King s School originally appeared in The Bookfellow and may have come direct from Crawford If so there is no reason to doubt it yet in the records of The King s School of his period the only R Crawford is listed as Richard Crawford It was also not possible to identify him positively with the Robert James G W Crawford who graduated B A at the University of Sydney in 1912 when the poet was about 44 years of age Crawford is represented in some of the anthologies and A G Stephens thought highly of his work His work has a delicate charm and though at times one fears it will not rise above merely pretty verse in some of his quatrains and lyrics Crawford does succeed in writing poetry of importance Perhaps as Stephens once suggested he may be better appreciated in the 21st century Crawford died suddenly at Lindfield New South Wales on 13 January 1930 Poetry collections editLyric Moods Various Verses 1904 Lyric Moods 1909 The Leafy Bliss 1921 References edit a b Haiku history in Australia Serle Percival 1949 Crawford Robert Dictionary of Australian Biography Sydney Angus amp Robertson Retrieved 22 September 2009 External links edit Lyric Moods at the National Library of Australia nbsp nbsp This biographical article about an Australian poet is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert Crawford Australian poet amp oldid 1213959806, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
