First met Danny at Ian Ball's little cottage in Brlgrave in 1975 or 76. I was about 16. Impressionable and deeply impressed.
I then had the privilege of being taught about early poetry, bardic traditions and the ballad by him at Melb Uni in 1977. Oxford Book of Ballads was instantly my prized possession. These experiences shaped the way I developed as a teacher of poetry. Whilst working on a dramatisation of Rime of The Ancient Mariner I used Sanny's sea shanties to teach my students the songs and to capture the hardship, camaraderie and longing of those who sailed the seas. Danny was a man of prodigious talent. The world is poorer without him but we are a richer for having met him.