Did she dance: Referential melancholy in the life of Anne Brennan

Abstract

This article reflects on the author’s biographical poetry project on the life of Anne Brennan, the daughter of Australian poet Christopher Brennan and a figure of bohemian notoriety in early 20th century Sydney. Brennan poses challenges to historians due to limited resources on her life, as well as a legacy of misogynist representation. Through practice-led research, the project attempts to re-present the archive of Anne Brennan as a site of feminist grief and opportunities for empathy and curiosity. The project resulted in No Camelias, a manuscript of biographical poetry. The objective of this article is to discuss the project’s practice-led methodology; research on the life of Anne Brennan; a review of literature discussing feminist historical approaches, poetic biography and postmodern historiography, focusing on the role of the poet-historian and concepts of referential anxiety and melancholy; and the writing of two poems from the collection, ‘Did she Dance’ and ‘Bitch Index’. The article is followed by the two poems.