London: The Favil Press, 1941. 15pp. Small 8vo. Saddle-stapled in printed green wraps. Sunning to perimeters of wraps; light bumping to yapped corners; soft crease at top front corner. Contents fine.
An early collection of nine poems by the Australian poet, critic, and musicologist John Manifold (1915-1985). Manifold studied at Cambridge in the late 1930s, then served as a British intelligence officer during WWII, before returning to Australia in 1949. There he divided his time between literary and leftist political organizations—Manifold had embraced communism in the 1930s—while collecting material for several books on Australian folksong. Much of the work in The Death of Ned Kelly exemplify Manifold's interest in the traditional bush ballad ("The Griesly Wife," "The Bunyip and the Whistling Kettle," etc.), though he also demonstrates his affinity for traditional forms ("Prefatory Sonnet") and poems with social themes ("Nightpiece"). An uncommon publication.
