Good morning/afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the State Library of Queensland's celebration of poetry. It is my absolute pleasure to speak to you today. The personal and cultural context of an era shapes the thought and therefore the work of the poets of the time. Kenneth Slessor was a famous Australian poet and journalist. Born in 1901 in Orange, New South Wales, he was appointed a war correspondent for a four-year period during the Second World War. This meant that he was exposed to certain situations and events that, by their very nature, forced him to contemplate both death and the meaning of human existence. This had a strong impact on his writing and is evident in two of his most famous poems. These are Beach Burial and Five Bells. In both, he profoundly questions both the meaning of life and the idea that death is insurmountable. Kenneth Slessor believes that death has great power. This fact is demonstrated throughout his poetry. The power of death is explored and the meaning of human existence is questioned. Kenneth Slessor does not interpret war as anything other than blood-filled action and gruesome murders as other poets of his era do. In the 1944 poem Beach Burial, we see death as an emotional and timeless fact, as well as a unifying factor between otherwise unrelated people. Through the use of linguistic choices such as “unknown sailors” and “if they fought as enemies,” it becomes clear that Slessor is not referring to a particular nation but to all soldiers, united by a common enemy; death. He writes as if there was solidarity in death. War is the result of a disagreement. To say that two nations – or more in many cases – are united during its course is a big statement. However, in saying this, Slessor obviously feels that death is powerful... in the middle of the paper... left behind for others to remember - the power of death ("500 books of all forms...") – I STILL DECIDE IF I SHOULD INSERT THIS POINT IN THE SECOND MAIN PARGARAPH Therefore, it can be said that the writing of poetry differs from poet to poet depending on individual personal experiences. Beyond this, the cultural and social context of the country they live in is a factor in determining how an individual poet chooses to write. After analyzing two famous poems written by Australian poet Kenneth Slessor, it became blatantly obvious that his poetry was influenced by his experiences as a war correspondent during World War II. The theme of death – i.e. its absolute power – and the questioning of human existence evident in his poetry were written largely as a result of his personal experience and opinions on the subjects..