SOURCE: An excerpt in An Annotated Bibliography of Henry Lawson, edited by George Mackaness, Angus and Robertson, 1951, pp. 1-3.

In the following passage, which was originally published as the preface to Short Stories in Prose and Verse (1894), Lawson introduces the stories in his first collection, emphasizing the Australian nature of the work.

This is an attempt to publish, in Australia, a collection of sketches and stories at a time when everything Australian, in the shape of a book, must bear the imprint of a London publishing firm before our critics will condescend to notice it, and before the 'reading public' will think it worth its while to buy nearly so many copies as will pay for the mere cost of printing a presentable volume.

The Australian writer, until he gets a 'London hearing' is only accepted as an imitator of some recognised English or American author; and, as...