In his brief life Michael Dransfield won the hearts of many in his generation.
and in the process gained himself unprecedented popularity. His poetry gives.
an insight into this astonishingly gifted writers imagination and the thoughts he.
had on a forever changing society with changing values. These poems were.
often richly imaginative, at times almost gothic and Dransfield himself.
describes his poems as "a colourful exotic presence". By the time he died.
Dransfield was something of a cult hero. His addiction to drugs, in particular.
heroin, saw many of the alternative life stylers who felt alienated from society.
looking to Dransfield as a leader of their kind and someone from whom they.
could gain an identity. Dransfield's poetry was written to evoke a response.
from these alternate life stylers and its purpose was to speak out a against a.
society obsessed with commercialism, the negative aspects of a rapidly.
changing society, the effects of the Vietnam war on society, the negatives of.
compulsory conscription and how the alternate way of life he so famously led.
was fast becoming a way out of dealing with and living with society in its then.
present state. For this reason his work was loved by many and hence his.
acquired cult status.
For Australia and most of western civilisation the 60's were years marked by.
political and cultural change. In these years governments became extreme,.
economies grew, the environment changed and illicit drugs were designed. .
This time in history was responsible for a new breed of people, these people.
chose to live an alternative life style, primarily in objection to living in a society fueled by commercialism and rapid change. The year 1972 saw one of.
Australia's major political changes take place, that was when conservative.
liberal government was replaced by the reformist labor government. It wasn't.
the change from liberal to Labor governments that was so significant, but the.
