Maggie Somerville & Stephen Whiteside – The Two Bees

Review by Graham Blackley

The Australian poet Clarence Michael James Dennis (1876-1938) is often remembered these days for the highly successful The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke which was published to great acclaim in 1915. On The Two Bees Stephen Whiteside and the multi-instrumentalists Maggie Somerville and Hugh McDonald delve into some lesser-known corners of the prolific writer’s work. Somerville, who composed the tunes featured in this collection, successfully brings the poet’s words to musical life. It is particularly interesting to hear some of Dennis’s contributions to The Herald newspaper as he was employed by Keith Murdoch to provide a poetic response to topical news items. The playfulness of his language in The Banana’s Lullaby provides a humorous and evocative take on the bizarre story about British scientists ‘putting fruit to sleep’ in order to maintain the freshness of the produce. Dennis was clearly having lots of fun when he wrote, “And they’re telling bedtime stories to bananas/And rocking little raspberries to rest/They will dope an apple silly/And it wakes in Piccadilly/From a beauty sleep that makes it look its best.” The Two Bees will appeal to anyone with an interest in this important Australian poet’s work.