Guide to the Papers of Cheryl Creatrix, ca. 1959-2004

Summary

Collection number:

MS 6422

Creator:

Cheryl Creatrix

Extent:

4.2 metres and (20 boxes, 1 large carton, 4 packets, 1 folder, 1 folio packet)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Cheryl Creatrix, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part requires permission for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The collection consists of editorial correspondence with Australian and overseas poets, original manuscripts in all the various stages through to publication in New Poetry or by Prism Books, material relating to the leaflet/magazine Beyond Poetry and the highly successful series of poetry readings at the Opera House, and minutes of meetings of the Poetry Society of Australia, covering the years 1973-76 when Creatrix was secretary.

The vast number of letters in the collection are mainly editorial and business, with very little personal material included. As editor of New Poetry and Prism Books, Creatrix accumulated handwritten and typescript drafts and galley proofs of the many contributions to these publishing ventures. Contributors to Prism Books included David Malouf, Dorothy Hewett, Robert Adamson, and Sylvia Kantarizis.

The material on the Opera House poetry readings contains references to many leading Australian poets, including Judith Wright, A.D. Hope, Rosemary Dobson, David Campbell, Dorothy Hewett, Rodney Hall, Robert Adamson, and John Tranter. There are also details of the poetry tour of Robert Duncan.

Biographical Note:

Cheryl Creatrix, poet, editor and publisher of New Poetry, the magazine of the Poetry Society of Australia, and editor of Prism Books, was born in 1948 at Tamworth. She left school in 1965, and spent two years in Arnhem Land.

While attending the film school at Balmain, Creatrix met and married poet Robert Adamson. They separated in 1977. As co-editors, the Adamsons achieved success in the 1970s with their Poetry Society publishing ventures. Under the auspices of the Society, Creatrix organised and directed the best attended poetry readings ever staged in Australia, and with Robert Adamson, organised, at their own expense, an extensive tour of Australia by the American poet Robert Duncan.

Ms Adamson was interviewed by Hazel de Berg in 1977 for the National Library's oral history program (Oral De B 1038-1039). Some of her publications include Misch Masch, New Poetry, and Leatherjacket. Creatrix was included in an anthology of poetry Up from below: poems of the 1980s, published in 1987.

Provenance:

The papers were purchased by the Library in 1978 and 1982. Further papers were added in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2011.

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2579828).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Cheryl Creatrix, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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