Raymond Priestley (1886–1974) served as geologist on Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod expedition (1907–1909) and Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova expedition (1910–1913); he later visited west Antarctica with Prince Philip on the R.Y. Britannia (1957) and returned to the Antarctic for the last time as United Kingdom adviser to the American Deep Freeze IV expedition (1958–1959). After Priestley's death, his estate disposed of his library. In his copy of The South Polar Times was laid a loose sheet of paper on which was typewritten a poem in red ink, obviously very old, entitled An Antarctic tragedy. Presumably Priestley wrote it, but attribution must remain speculative because he did not sign it or otherwise append a notation. Attribution seems reasonable, if not obvious, however, under the circumstances of its discovery. An Antarctic tragedy is a clever, humorous, and poignant poem about an unfortunate Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) pair during the nesting season. All who have observed Adélie penguins in their colonies will understand this poem perfectly, with true sympathy for these remarkable and lovable creatures. (Fig. 1)
An Antarctic tragedy
