David McKee Wright, 1869–1928
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26686/knznq.v7i3.704Abstract
David McKee Wright is one of New Zealand’s most popular balladists. From an unsettled childhood in Ireland and England, and early life as a farmhand in New Zealand, Wright forged a career in the Congregational Church, and wrote verse and short stories on rural, political, and moral themes. Upon emigrating to Australia, he became a successful journalist and literary critic. In Australia he is considered to be part of an important literary culture surrounding the Sydney Bulletin. While not particularly popular with critics, Wright was a very popular with the public, and by all accounts a successful writer. Perhaps best remembered in Australia for his Irish verse, Wright wrote in many forms and genres. Wright is one of the few turn-of-the-century poets whose work still appears in New Zealand poetry anthologies.
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