Robert Service was a Scot born in England, who
got about. Writing and poetry about the
Yukon
were his métier. Banking does not sound thrilling but in the far reaches of
North America things were different. The
Wikipedia's article on him is interesting but supercilious. Poets in the
business loathed him and hated his success when they were not just plain
envious. His most famous poems are
The Shooting Of Dan McGrew
&
The Cremation Of Sam McGee. He tried to enlist
at the age of 41 but was rejected. He served as a stretcher bearer instead. He
talked the talk. He walked the walk.
FUN FACT:
It is reported by the
Wikipedia
that The
Ballad of Eskimo Nell might have been written by
Noël
Coward in the style of Mr Service's ballads. Thus we were told by by
John
Masters in his historical novel By the Green of the Spring. Masters
tells of Coward's first performance of the poem in a Paris nightclub in August
1919. He includes four stanzas from the poem, which differ somewhat from the
Wiki's offering. The Heretical Press
gives one variant @ Eskimo
Nell
Robert W. Service ex Wiki
QUOTE
Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a
poet and writer who has often been called "the Bard of the
Yukon".
Service is best known for his poems "The
Shooting Of Dan McGrew" and "The
Cremation Of Sam McGee", from his first book,
Songs of a Sourdough (1907; also published as The Spell of the Yukon
and Other Verses). "These humorous tales in verse were considered doggerel
by the literary set, yet remain extremely popular to this day."
UNQUOTE
The author of this little hatchet job chooses to allege that Mr. Service's poetry
is doggerel. But he was a man who knew there is more to life
than playing with little boys' anuses, unlike literary patter merchants. Anyone who calls
The Shooting Of Dan McGrew
humorous is
a fool for his pains. Death, lechery and robbery are not jokes. This canard was fed in
by a little poofter envious of poets with something worth
saying.
An honest man who can look you straight in the eye.
ROBERT SERVICE
CARRY
ON!
SHOOTING OF DAN MCGREW
JUST
THINK!
CREMATION OF SAM MCGEE
SPELL OF THE YUKON
THE
QUITTER
THE
CALL OF THE WILD
Errors & omissions, broken links,
cock ups, over-emphasis, malice [ real or imaginary ] or whatever; if
you find any I am open to comment.
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Updated on
25/10/2018 08:21