Frank the Poet

Francis MacNamara (c. 1810 – 28 August 1861), known as "Frank the Poet", was an Irish writer and poet who was transported as a convict to the penal colony of New South Wales. While incarcerated, he composed improvised verse that captured convict life and exposed the cruelties of the convict system. MacNamara's poems were initially passed on orally among convicts and later published.

Quotes

John Meredith and Rex Whalan (eds.) Frank the Poet (Melbourne: Red Rooster, 1979)

• Captain Murray, if you please,
  Make it hours instead of days,
  You know, it becomes an Irishman
  To drown the shamrock when he can.
  • p. 29

• My name is Frank MacNamara,
  A native of Cashell, County Tipperary,
  Sworn to be a tyrant's foe
  And while I've life I'll crow.
  • p. 54

• Farewell Tasmania's isle!
     I bid adieu
  The possum and the kangaroo.
  Farmers' Glory! Prisoners' Hell!
     Land of Buggers!
     Fare ye well.
  • p. 62

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Frank the Poet on Wikipedia