8 November 2005
A collection of rarely seen poems by famed Australian writer Dame Mary Gilmore will be launched at Monash University's Clayton campus this Thursday, 10 November.
The Collected Verse of Mary Gilmore (Volume One 1887-1925) is edited by Associate Professor Jenny Strauss from Monash's School of English , Communications and Performance Studies. The book is the latest in the series Academy
Editions of Australian Literature.
Dame Mary Gilmore, born Mary Jean Cameron in 1865 in New South Wales, had more than 1360 poems published between 1887 and 1960. Of these, more than 500 have never appeared in collections and remain largely unknown.
The Collected Verse of Mary Gilmore (Volume One) brings together many of these poems for the first time. The poems have been tracked down from sources including The Barrier Miner and the National Library of Uruguay. Some of her best-known poems are also contained in books such as Marri'd and Other Verses (1910), and The Passionate Heart (1918).
In the 1930s Mary Gilmore was regularly cited as 'the best woman poet in Australia'. She was also probably the only Dame of the British Empire to write a regular column for a communist newspaper.
Dame Mary Gilmore died in 1962 at the age of 97. Her image is featured on Australia's $10 note, along with that of A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson.
Noted historian Professor Stuart McIntyre from Melbourne University will launch the book.
What: Book launch: The Collected Verse of Mary Gilmore (Volume One 1887-1925), published by Queensland University Press.
When: Thursday 10 November at 5.30 pm for 6 pm start.
Where : Rare Books Collection exhibition area, Level 1, Sir Louis Matheson Library, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton.
For information contact: Mr Richard Overell, Rare Books Librarian on +61 3 9905 2689, or Ms Karen Stichtenoth, Media Communications on +61 3 9905 1253.
| 
