Frank the poet: a convicts' tour to hell

Maree Delofski, Nick Franklin, Mark Gregory

    Research output: Non-traditional research outputDigital or Visual products

    Abstract

    August 2012 marks the 151st anniversary of the death of Francis MacNamara, better known in convict Australia as Frank the Poet. According to one of Australia's leading contemporary poets, Les Murray, MacNamara's epic work A Convict's Tour to Hell should be placed right at the beginning of English literature in Australia. Frank’s attitude to the colonial authorities, embodied in this now famous poem, can also be gauged from the punishments he received. Lashed 590 times, he was sent to solitary confinement, to the treadmill, and worked on chain gangs. All through his incarceration, Frank continued to entertain his fellow convicts with his rebellious verse. One hour program.
    Original languageEnglish
    Place of PublicationAustralia
    PublisherABC Radio National Hindsight
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Keywords

    • radio documentary

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