C. J. Dennis

C. J. Dennis
Born
Clarence Michael James Dennis

(1876-09-07)7 September 1876
Died22 June 1938(1938-06-22) (aged 61)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Burial placeBox Hill Cemetery
37°49′21″S 145°8′8″E / 37.82250°S 145.13556°E / -37.82250; 145.13556
OccupationWriter
Notable workThe Songs of a Sentimental Bloke
Parent(s)James Dennis
Kate Francis Dennis (nee Tobin)

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis (7 September 1876 – 22 June 1938), better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet and journalist known for his best-selling verse novel The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke (1915).[1] Alongside his contemporaries and occasional collaborators Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson, Dennis helped popularise Australian slang in literature, earning him the title "the laureate of the larrikin".

When Dennis died, Australia's then Prime Minister Joseph Lyons said he was destined to be remembered as the "Australian Robert Burns".[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference adbcjd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Australian poet". The Argus. Melbourne. 23 June 1938. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2011 – via National Library of Australia.