Denis Kevans (1939-2005) was an Australian poet, songwriter and folk singer. Widely known as Australia's "Poet Lorikeet", he wrote mainly on political and environmental topics, from a leftwing viewpoint.
Kevans was born in Canberra in 1939, and attended local Catholic schools before earning a scholarship to St Josephs College in Sydney. An all round sportsman, he was a member of the Prime Minister's XI which played the touring English team in 1958. He completed a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education while working on building sites and becoming a member of the NSW Builders Labourers Federation.
Kevans became active in left wing political and cultural movements, including the Realist Writers Group associated with the Communist Party of Australia and the Bush Music Club. He wrote poems on a wide variety of political topics, but over time came to focus increasingly on environmental issues.
A concert in honour of Kevans, planned to be an annual event is to be held on Anzac Day Eve, 24 April 2009 [1].