MARK TWAIN’S AUSTRALIAN POEM FOR SALE AT BONHAMS

The manuscript of Mark Twain’s poem, ‘Invocation’, about the animals of Australia is to be sold in Part I of The Roy Davids Collection III: Poetry: Poetical Manuscripts and Portraits of Poets at Bonhams New Bond Street on 10 April. It is estimated at £5,000-8,000.

Written at sea during Twain’s round the world trip in 1895, the poem is incorporated in a letter he wrote to an on-board friend, Jack, on 29 August, the occasion of the latter’s birthday. It is a humorous catalogue of the fauna of Australia and begins:

‘Come forth from thy oozy couch,
O Ornithorynchus dear,
And greet with a cordial claw
The stranger that longs to hear...’

The poem was first published in ‘The Mercury’ in Australia on 2 November 1895. Twain was not known as a poet and was suitably modest about what he called his ‘great work’ once saying. “I have written a poem only once in 30 years. I have now written one of four stanzas...I always have an inspiration to write a poem -- once every 30 years...First I thought of Sydney Harbour...Then I thought of the fauna of Australia...I made a list of them and began...I can say now that the most difficult thing in the world to do is to write poetry when you don't know how...'

Poetry: Poetical Manuscripts and Portraits of Poets, is the fruit of 40 years of collecting by the poet and scholar Roy Davids and is the finest collection of poetry ever to come to auction. In Mr David’s own words, “it would now be impossible for the present collection to be even approximately replicated.’



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