Bush poetry has never belonged only in books. It has been carried around campfires, kitchen tables, shearing sheds, country halls, pub verandahs, truck stops, stock camps and out on the road.
Some poems are performed in front of a crowd. Some are recited into a microphone. Others sit quietly in notebooks, emails, desk drawers and old folders, waiting for somewhere to belong.
Keeping The Verse Alive is Country Campfire’s long-term project to preserve and share Australian bush poetry in written and recited form — with the poet properly credited and the work given a permanent home online.
This is not about chasing trends or filling a website for the sake of it. It is about protecting the words, voices and stories that form part of Australian country culture, and helping carry them forward for future generations.
The Project Today
What began with a handful of poems has grown into a substantial and expanding collection: dozens of written poems, well over 100 Bush Poetry Podcast episodes, video recitals and permanent pages recognising the poets and contributors behind the work.
The collection includes funny yarns, working-life stories, family memories, history, hardship, country characters, the road, the land and the places Australians call home.
Some contributors are established poets with books and years of performances behind them. Others have never had their work published online before. All deserve a place around the campfire.
🔥 Explore the Australian Bush Poetry collection →
Why Keeping The Verse Alive Matters
Australian bush poetry is still being written, recited and shared, but much of it lives in places that can easily disappear: notebooks, loose pages, old recordings, emails, social media posts and computer files.
When a notebook is lost, a social account closes or a recording is forgotten, part of that person’s story can disappear with it.
Keeping The Verse Alive gives those poems another place to endure. Each written poem receives its own page, the poet is clearly credited, and recordings are connected wherever they are available.
The purpose is simple: preserve the poem, recognise the poet and make the work easier to find years from now.
Written Poems, Recitals and Poet Pages
Written Poems
Written poems are published as individual Country Campfire posts, giving each work a permanent page, a featured image and clear credit to its creator. The complete collection is gathered in the Australian Bush Poetry A–Z.
Recitals and the Bush Poetry Podcast
Some poems are also preserved as audio or video recitals, whether performed by the poet, another contributor or Country Campfire with permission. These recordings are shared through the Country Campfire Bush Poetry Podcast and linked with the written poem where available.
Poet and Contributor Pages
Where possible, contributors are given a permanent Country Campfire page bringing together their background, written poems, recordings, books, links and other contributions. These pages make sure the person behind the words is recognised as well as the work itself.
🔥 Meet the Country Campfire Legends →
How Country Campfire Preserves Your Work
- Permission comes first. Country Campfire will not knowingly publish a poem without permission from the poet, family, estate or rights holder.
- The poet’s words are respected. Wording, voice, spelling, punctuation, capitalisation, stanza structure and line breaks are preserved. Only unmistakable errors are corrected, and any corrections are recorded.
- Credit stays with the creator. The poet’s name or chosen pen name is clearly connected to the work.
- Ownership does not change. Poems remain the property and copyright of their original creators.
- The poem receives a permanent home. Each published poem has its own page that can be read, linked and shared over time.
- There is no charge to the poet. Keeping The Verse Alive exists to preserve and promote contributors and their work.
By giving permission, a poet allows Country Campfire to publish the work on the Country Campfire website, include it in the Keeping The Verse Alive collection, credit the creator, and share links or short excerpts to help people discover the poem and poet. Permission to record or recite a poem is requested separately.
Do You Have a Bush Poem Sitting Somewhere?
You do not need to be famous, professionally published or comfortable performing on stage. You may have one poem, a handful of poems or a lifetime of writing sitting quietly in a drawer.
If your work carries the spirit of Australian country life, bush humour, hardship, history, characters, places, family, working life, mateship, memory, the road, the land or the old storytelling tradition, Country Campfire would like to hear from you.
When getting in touch, please include:
- the poem title and complete poem
- your name or preferred pen name
- a short bio or background, if you would like one included
- a photo, if you are comfortable sharing one
- any book, website or social links you would like included
- written confirmation that Country Campfire may publish the poem online
- whether you are also open to the poem being recited or recorded
🔥 Share your poetry with Country Campfire →
Join the Bush Poetry Group
The Bush Poetry – Keeping The Verse Alive Facebook group is a public place for poems, recitals, yarns, podcast episodes and written verse from around the campfire.
Whether you write, recite, listen, remember old poems or simply enjoy the tradition, you are welcome to pull up a seat.
Join Bush Poetry – Keeping The Verse Alive on Facebook →
A Place Around the Campfire
Country Campfire exists to become Australia’s Digital Campfire — a long-term home for preserving, celebrating and sharing Australian country culture.
Keeping The Verse Alive is one part of that mission.
One poem at a time.
One poet at a time.
One story at a time.
The flame keeps burning.
1 comment
Thank you, Alex..👌👌