Bernard Patrick O’Dowd

Bernard Patrick O’Dowd (born April 11, 1866, Beaufort, Victoria, Australia—died September 2, 1953, Melbourne, Victoria) was a poet who gave Australian poetry a more philosophical tone, supplanting the old bush ballads that had dominated for many years. Educated in the arts and law at the University of Melbourne, O’Dowd taught for a while, worked as a librarian, then made a successful career as a parliamentary draftsman for the Australian Parliament. In Dawnward? (1903), his first...