Jas H Duke (1939-1992) : An Anarchist Poet

From the Australian poetry zine 'Going Down Swinging', No.13, March 1993.

Track 4: Interview with Bill Marshall for 3PBS-FM radio (197?). Answering the Telephone. The Morning of a Bullshit Artist. Shit Poem (all from 3PBS-FM recording 197?). Bruno's Injury. My Brother at the Dole Office. Noisy Incident. The Future of Richmond (Collective Effort recordings).

Jas died of a heart attack on June 19, 1992.

As he was being wheeled into surgery, Thalia (a Melbourne poet) who went to visit him, told the nurses to take care of him "'cos he was one of Australia's greatest poets." They laughed, and asked him to recite a poem. Though in a lot of pain, he sat up and recited 'Solidarity Explained':

When the axe first came into the forest
The trees said to each other
The handle is one of us.

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Thanks for this. Jas was a great poet, a great man, a great brother. It was good to hear his voice again. Mick.