Poetry

The Collected Verse of Mary Gilmore: Volume 2, 1930–1962 edited by Jennifer Strauss

Item: The Collected Verse of Mary Gilmore
Author: Ann Vickery

by Ann Vickery •

December 2007–January 2008, no. 297

University of Queensland Press, $80 pb, 872 pp

Poetry

The Collected Verse of Mary Gilmore: Volume 2, 1930–1962 edited by Jennifer Strauss

by Ann Vickery •

December 2007–January 2008, no. 297

As the size of Jennifer Strauss’s two-volume scholarly edition of Mary Gilmore’s verse attests, Gilmore (1864–1962) is one of the most prolific poets in Australian literature. At around 800 pages, Volume 2 complements the first volume (which Vivian Smith reviewed in ABR, February 2006). Together, these two volumes represent the most detailed editing of an Australian poet to date. Rayner Hoff’s bronze statue of Gilmore’s head on the cover signals the consolidation of Gilmore’s reputation in the last thirty years of her life. (In 1933 Gilmore became a life member of the Fellowship of Australian Writers; five years later, she was made Dame of the British Empire.)

Ann Vickery

Ann Vickery is Head of Writing, Literature and Culture at Deakin University. She is the author of three poetry collections, the most recent being Bees Do Bother: An antagonist’s care pack (Vagabond Press, 2021).