Francis Kenna

The Hon Francis Kenna
Portrait of the Honorable Francis Kenna.
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Bowen
In office 11 March 1902 – 2 October 1909
Preceded by	Robert Smith
Succeeded by	Myles Ferricks
Personal details
Born	Francis Kenna (1865-09-21)21 September 1865 Maryborough, Queensland, Australia
Died	23 June 1932(1932-06-23) (aged 66) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Resting place	Lutwyche Cemetery
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Other political affiliations	Independent, Ministerial, Opposition
Spouse(s)	Edith Elvira Stamp
Occupation	Poet, Journalist
Religion	Church of England

Francis Kenna (21 September 1865 – 23 June 1932),^[1] was an Australian poet, journalist, and Labor Member of the Legislative Assembly in Queensland. He edited the "Brisbane Worker".

He published Banjo, of the Overflow, a parody of Banjo Paterson's Clancy of the Overflow in 1892, as part of the Bulletin Debate about the true nature of life in the Australian bush. Like many of his poems (including those later published in Phases), it was first published in the Sydney Bulletin.

In 1907 he married Edith Elvira Stamp; they had two sons, Herbert and Vernon.^[2] Kenna died in 1932 and was buried in Lutwyche Cemetery.^[3]

Works

• Songs of a season (1895, Melville, Mullen & Slade; Melbourne)
• Phases (1915, Thos S Laidler, NSW)
• Poems (no year)
• Queensland authors and artists’ Xmas magazine (no year; Watson Ferguson, Brisbane) edited by Francis Kenna and issued by the Queensland Authors and Artists Association.

References

• Australian National Bibliographical Database (which has 8 entries for works by or about Kenna).