McCrae, Hugh (1876-1958), was one of a group of Australian poets who attempted after World War I (1914-1918) to break away from the traditional themes dominating Australian poetry. He was distinguished by his fresh outlook and the healthy vitality of his work. McCrae was not concerned with Australian themes. His work is sometimes criticized for lack of emotional depth, but it still marks an advance in the history of Australian poetry.
McCrae’s poetry expresses the sheer delight of living. Presented with lyrical skill, McCrae’s verses are polished, sophisticated, and generally romantic. His most common subjects are love, nature, and time. Colorful imagery and unusual imagination serve to make his fantasy seem real. In turn, the verses are exuberant, delicate, sardonic, affectionate, or humorous. In spite of his apparent lack of emotion, his rhythm, cadence, and rhyme patterns ensure his readability. Critics consider his best work to be contained in the 1928 edition of Satyrs and Sunlight, the first edition of which was published in 1909. His other collections include Colombine (1920), Idyllia (1922), The Mimshi Maiden (1938), Poems (1939), Forests of Pan (1944), and Voice of the Forest (1945). McCrae wrote My Father and My Father’s Friends (1935), a biography of his father, the Scottish-born Australian poet George Gordon McCrae, and his father’s literary friends. Hugh Raymond McCrae was born on Oct. 4, 1876, in Melbourne. He died on Feb. 17, 1958.
