Rhodesian Rhymes - Cullen Gouldsbury

Gouldsburys verse, written nearly 70 years ago, still has the sparkle which made it an instant success in his day and which earned him the title of Kipling of Rhodesia. Musical and picturesque, breezy and humorous, tender and beautiful, it appeals even to those who do not normally read poetry. Mainly narrative, his poems are a delightful commentary on the Rhodesia of yesterday with its peculiar admixture of heathen and settler.

He was an authority on African customs and legend and his poems on native folklore are most informative. Gouldsbury was in the Native Department of the British South Africa Companys Administration in Southern Rhodesia from 1902 until 1908 when he transferred to Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) where he served as a Native Commissioner. He died in 1916 at the age of 35.

He had 5 books of prose and 5 books of verse published. This reprint of the 1932 edition of Rhodesian Rhymes, which includes additional poems, his portrait, bio-graphical details and 11 pen and ink illustrations, is the most complete anthology of his verse yet published.