Denis Glover

An excerpt from Denis Glover's poem "Wellington Harbour is a Laundry" on the Wellington waterfront

Lieutenant Commander Denis James Matthews Glover DSC (9 December 1912-9 August 1980) was a New Zealand poet and publisher.

Well-known for radical leftist opinions, he was often in trouble with authorities. In 1935 he founded the Caxton Press^[1], which he used to encourage a less sentimental style of poetry in New Zealand than was being published prior to this time. His work at the Press was interrupted by service in the Navy in World War II, in which he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and received a Distinguished Service Cross for bravery.

His best-known works are the Sings Harry sequence, "Arawata Bill", and "The Magpies". The refrain of the latter ("Quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle", imitating the sound of the Australian magpie) is one of the most famous lines in New Zealand poetry.

Playwright Roger Hall wrote a play called Mr Punch about Glover's life. Douglas Lilburn set some of his poems to music, and later used a theme from his setting of "Sings Harry" in his Third Symphony.

References

1. ^ Ogilvie, Gordon. "Glover, Denis James Matthews 1912 - 1980". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4G11. Retrieved 5 April 2011. 

External links

• Biography at NZ Book Council site
• Works in The New Zealand Railways Magazine (etexts)
• Denis Glover on Zealandia, Britannia's daughter, the woman symbolising New Zealand (particularly in the early twentieth century).

Persondata
Name	Glover, Denis James Matthews
Alternative names
Short description	20th century New Zealand poet, journalist, printer, typographer, publish and naval officer
Date of birth	9 December 1912
Place of birth	Dunedin, New Zealand
Date of death	9 August 1980
Place of death	Wellington, New Zealand