I felt I knew Denis pretty well before I ever met him, through his poetry.   His voice, loud, strong, compassionate, articulate, funny - made me want to meet him. I did, at the National in Sydney in 89.   I tagged along with him, got pissed with him, sang his "Collectors" song in the chorus cup with him, and drove him home (pissed, as we often did in those unenlightened days) and we both crashed in his house at Wenty Falls. Since those then I've moved to the UK but we have had occasional contact - sharing songs, fleeting words at festivals, the odd phone call. Although never close friends I continued to admire him. One memorable performance at the Blackheath Folk Club when I was home made me weep with laughter. I think it was also his distinctive Australian tone - fair dinkum, no bullshit, "pin the bastards down and put it up them" attitude that got through to me on that occasion.   The bloke was totally human, totally compassionate, and extremely clever with words. That was what made you love him.   He wore his fallibility on his sleeve and you respected him because of it. I wrote a poem about him which he always said he liked, and we talked about it in January when I was back in oz.   Den will live on through all of us that loved him and his work.   All our love to Son and to his family.