Abstract
This essay examines the question of gender bias in Australian literature and the mariginal state of poetry. "Poetry undoubtedly occupies a peripheral position in Australian literary culture...." "Nevertheless, Australian poetry persists, and stubbornly flourishes.".
Highlights
L ast year, at a lively town hall forum at James Cook University examining the question of gender bias in Australian literature, I was asked a question which astonished me
Bronwyn Lea (2010) writes that “the most exciting poetry in Australia seems to be found, very often, in first books by young female poets” (p. 21), a consensus affirmed at times by critics as diverse as Geoff Page, John Tranter, Geoffrey Lehmann, Judith Beveridge, Julian Croft, among others
While there are not yet any current statistics focussed on the gender balance of reviews of the subcategory of Australian poetry, my overriding sense is that Australian poetry presently runs counter to trends that have prompted benchmarking projects examining gender balance in literature, such as the VIDA Count in the United States and the Stella Count in Australia
Summary
L ast year, at a lively town hall forum at James Cook University examining the question of gender bias in Australian literature, I was asked a question which astonished me. The notion of a new generation of young female poets was first articulated by Maria Takolander in an influential review of debut volumes by Elizabeth Campbell and L.K. Holt in Australian Book Review, both of which were early titles from publisher John Leonard Press.
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