MS 9354
Papers of Philip Mead (1953- )



Scope and Content Note

Papers

1975-91

2.24m (16 boxes)

Restricted.

The papers were purchased by the National Library from Philip Mead in 1992.

The papers include personal and professional correspondence, drafts and typescripts of poetry, copies of articles, reviews, talks, lectures, manuscripts, writings, notes, cuttings and reports relating to Mead’s career as a poet, writer, editor, lecturer, teacher and literary reviewer.

Correspondents include Kevin Hart, Les Murray, Judith Rodriguez, Alec Bolton, David Brooks, Andrew Sant, Geoff Page, John Tranter, R.A. Simpson, A.D. Hope, Tom Shapcott and Chris Wallace-Crabbe.

The collection was arranged and listed by the donor before being transferred to the Library. The file titles and the arrangement of records within the files have been preserved by the Library. The Library has arranged the collection into 9 series which closely resemble alphabetical groupings made by Mead at the time of transfer to the Library.

Biographical Note

1953 Born in Brisbane, 31 August
1975 B.A. (Honours), Australian National University
1981 M.A., La Trobe University
1982 Dip. Ed., University of Melbourne
1990 PhD, University of Melbourne

Employment

1980-81 Teaching Fellow in English, Geelong College, Geelong
1980-84 Off Campus Assessor, School of Humanities, Deakin University
1982-85 Head of English Faculty, Geelong College, Geelong
1986-87 Research Assistant, School of Humanities, Deakin University
1986 Tutor in English, Ormond College, University of Melbourne
1987-91 Lockie Fellow in Creative Writing and Australian Literature, English Department, University Of Melbourne
1987-94 Poetry Editor, Meanjin
1991-94 Lockie Lecturer in Australian Writing, English Department, University of Melbourne
1995- Senior lecturer, English Department, University of Tasmania

Publications

  • Songs from another country, Canberra, Open Door Press, 1975
  • Be faithful go, Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1980
  • The spring-mire, Canberra, Brindabella Press, 1983
  • This river is in the south, Brisbane, University of Queensland Press, 1984
  • The temperament of generations : fifty years of writing in Meanjin, edited by Jenny Lee, Philip Mead and Gerald Murnane, Melbourne University Press, 1990
  • The Penguin book of modern Australian poetry, edited by John Tranter and Philip Mead, Penguin, 1992
  • Shakespeare's books : contemporary cultural politics and the persistenceof empire, edited by Philip Mead and Marion Campbell, University of Melbourne, 1993
  • Kenneth Slessor : critical readings, edited by Philip Mead, Queensland University Press, 1997

Series List

  1. Correspondence, 1975-91
  2. Out-letters, 1989-91
  3. Writings, 1985-91
  4. Penguin book of modern Australian poetry, 1989-91
  5. Manuscripts by others
  6. Committees, 1989-91
  7. University of Queensland Press, 1988-90
  8. Open Door Press
  9. Other papers, 1986-88

Series Description

Series 1. Correspondence, 1971-91

The series consists of personal and professional correspondence. The personal correspondence is extensive; in particular there is a large number of letters written by Mead’s close friend and fellow poet Alan Gould. These letters ( ca. 120 ) often run to six pages of typescript and are usually accompanied by poems written by Gould. Other correspondents include Kevin Hart, Les Murray, Judith Rodriguez, Alec Bolton, David Brooks, Andrew Sant, Geoff Page, John Tranter, R.A. Simpson, A.D. Hope, Tom Shapcott and Chris Wallace-Crabbe.

Letters by Mead to Alan Gould are held by the Library at MS 6635.

Personal correspondence, 1975-91

The series consists of in-letters, postcards, greeting cards, invitations, leaflets, notices, brochures and copies of the Victorian Fellowship of Australia Writers Bulletin.

Folder(s)
1 Correspondence, September 1975 - April 1979
2 Correspondence, June - December 1979
3 Correspondence, January - November 1980
4 Correspondence, December 1980 - December 1981
5 Correspondence, January - November 1982
6 Correspondence, January - December 1983
7 Correspondence, January - December 1984
8 Correspondence, January - December 1985
9 Correspondence, January - December 1986
10-11 Correspondence, January - December 1987
12-13 Correspondence, January - December 1988
14-15 Correspondence, January - December 1989
16-17 Correspondence, January - December 1990

Professional correspondence, 1971-91

The professional correspondence includes letters relating to the publication of his poems in newspapers and journals and papers relating to his academic studies and teaching positions.

Folder(s)
18 Poetry, May 1971 - April 1979
19 Academic training, La Trobe University (M.A.) and University of Melbourne, Dip.Ed., PhD, Jan 1979 - December 1990
20 Geelong College, July 1979 - February 1986
21 Deakin University, 1980 - 88
22 Lockie Lectureship in Australian Writing, Melbourne University, September 1977 - February 1991

Series 2. Out-letters, 1989-91

The series consists of computer generated copies of letters written by Mead from 1989-91 relating to literary and academic matters. Recipients include John Tranter, Sue Abbey (UQP), and Linda Ristow (Penguin).

1 folder

Series 3. Writings, 1985-91

This series is a comprehensive collection of drafts and typescripts of Mead’s poems, articles, lectures, reviews, talks and translations. It includes a draft manuscript of This river is in the south published in 1984 by Penguin Australia. Bound copies of his theses, ‘John Berryman’s The dream songs’ (M.A., 1980) and ‘Reading origins in Australian literature’ (PhD, 1990) are located in folders 36 and 37.

Critical Writings

Folder(s)
1-10 Reviews, review articles, 1985-91

Talks, lectures, radio programs and public performances

Folder(s)
11 Radio review of John Tranter, Under Berlin: new poems 1988; Seamus Heaney, The haw lantern, ABC Radio ‘First edition’, 1988; Chris Wallace-Crabbe, I’m deadly serious, ABC Radio ‘First edition’, 1988
12 ‘The place of poetry now’, Spoleto Festival, 1988
13 ‘Writing the object: the language of art criticism,’ 1988, a talk later published as ‘Talking pictures’, Agenda: Contemporary Art Criticism, 1988
14 ‘Constructions of the colonial in Australian writing and painting’, lecture to the Fine Arts Department, University of Melbourne, 1988
15 ‘Poets and dreamers: history and apocalypse in McAuley’s Quiros’, The Australian Centre, 1989
16-17 ‘Poetic theory/poetic practice,’ Department of English, University of Melbourne, 1988
18 ‘Horizon, then home’, Cultural practice and the environment seminar series, The Australian Centre, May 1991; papers relating to a seminar titled ‘Perception-language-description’, 1991
19 ‘Crucifixion and rose: religious art in Australia’, The Catholic Worker, 1987
20 ‘Memoranda of our feelings: John Ashbery’s A wave’, Scripsi, 1986; ‘Self-fashioning and self-portraits: John Ashbery and Stephen Greenblatt’, ABC ‘Radio Helicon’, 1988
21 ‘Topopoesis: Laurie Duggan’s The ash range’, Scripsi, 1987
22-23 ‘Charles Harpur and the fate of poetry’, ABC Radio, ‘Fictions’, 1988; Charles Harpur selected poetry and prose, ed Michael Ackland, ‘In the first place: Charles Harpur and the fate of poetry’, The Age Monthly Review, 1987; Charles Harpur, Stalwart the bushranger, ed Elizabeth Perkins, ‘Invisible heritage’, The Age Monthly Review, 1989; ‘Charles Harpur’s disfiguring origins’, Australian Literary Studies, 1990, delivered as a paper at a conference ‘Romanticism and the Imagination’, University of Melbourne, 1989 and published in collected papers Imagining romanticism: essays on English and Australian romanticisms, 1991
24-25 ‘Map-makers’ colours: Paul Carter’s The road to Botany Bay, Scripsi, 1989

Poetry manuscripts

See also Series 7 for royalty statements for This river is in the south.

Folder(s)
26 Draft manuscript, This river is in the south, 1983
27 Poetry workbook to 1975
28 Poetry drafts to 1975
29-31 Poetry drafts, 1976-84
32 Poetry drafts, 1985-90
33 ‘Poetry and biology’, ‘The Dante shirt’ and ‘Wallace Stevens and John Ashbury: the central of our being’

Translations

Translations of French and German poetry.

Folder(s)
34 Translations, 1981-82
35 Workbook, 1983

Theses

Folder(s)
36 ‘John Berryman’s The dream songs’, 1980
37 ‘Reading origins in Australian literature’, 1990

Collaborations

Folder(s)
38 ‘Designs upon the reader: new critical perspectives on Australian literature’, a proposal written with Kevin Hart

Reviews

Folder(s)
39-40 Newscuttings and journals containing Mead’s poetry
41 Newscuttings and journals containing reviews of This river is in the south and Spring-mire
42 Newscuttings, newspapers and journals containing reviews by Mead

Series 4. Penguin book of modern Australian poetry, 1989-91

The Penguin book of modern Australian poetry was edited by Philip Mead and John Tranter and published in 1991. Both have also contributed poems to the publication. The papers provide an interesting insight into the publication of the anthology as Mead was living in Melbourne and Tranter in Sydney. Much of the discussion was carried out in correspondence or by exchanging annotated copies of poems. The drafts of the introduction also went back and forth between the two editors.

The series consists of correspondence with John Tranter and Penguin, original selections, drafts of the introduction, galley proofs, permission letters, notes and journal articles and a draft manuscript.

Tranter’s papers are held by the Library at MS 5715.

Folder(s)
1 Draft manuscript
2 Original selections
3 Galley proofs with covers
4 Permissions letters
5 Drafts of introduction
6-7 Correspondence with John Tranter (co-editor) and Penguin
8 Reviews of other poetry works
9 Journal articles
10 Miscellaneous notes, photographs of Philip Mead and John Tranter and two tapes
11 ‘House of vitriol’, manuscript by Peter Rose
12 ‘Peniel’, manuscript by Kevin Hart

Series 5. Manuscripts by others

The series consists of typescript copies of poems and writings by other Australian poets. There is evidence within the correspondence in Series 1 that material was circulated amongst this group and others for comment and criticism and general information.

Folder(s)
1-3 Kevin Hart
4 Peter Craven, Michael Heyward, Christina Thompson, G. M. Gillard, John Forbes, Ann Mitchell, Ian Reid, Chris Wallace-Crabbe and Alan Gould
5 Martin Harrison
6 Lionel Mead
7 Laurie Duggan
8 David Herrkt, Alan Gould, Paul Kane, Les Murray, Chris Andrews and John Forbes
9 John Tranter
10 Judith Rodriguez, Bev Roberts, Chris Wallace-Crabbe

Series 6. Committees, 1988-91

In 1988 Mead was a judge for the ABC Bicentennial Literary Awards. From 1989-91 he was a member of a number of advisory groups for the Victorian Ministry for the Arts. These included the Premier’s Literary Awards and the Literature Advisory Panel. He was also a committee member for the Melbourne International Writers’ Festival in 1990 and 1991.

The series consists of correspondence, agenda, minutes of meetings, notes and reports.

Folder(s)
1 Bicentennial Prize for Poetry, 1988
2-4 Literature Advisory Panel, 1989-91
5-8 Premier’s Literary Awards, 1989-91
9-11 Melbourne International Writers’ Festival, 1990-91

Series 7. University of Queensland Press, 1988-90

The series includes royalty statements for Mead’s book This river is in the south. There is also some correspondence with Sue Abbey (senior editor, UQP) and a manuscript relating to his position as a reader for Queenland University Press.

2 folders

Series 8. Open Door Press

Open Door Press was the initiative of a small group known as Canberra Poetry. The group was formed in 1972 when Alan Gould, David Brooks and Philip Mead, all students at the Australian National University, joined with Mark O’Connor, a lecturer in the English Department, to start a small quarterly magazine. The magazine was meant to serve those Canberra writers who had not been published before. A series of fortnightly Broadsheets was launched on 1 January 1975. Each broadsheet was a limited edition of between 100 and 150 copies, signed and numbered by the author.

The series contains an almost complete set of Broadsheets from 1 –26 ( items 10 and 22 are missing). They include poets such as R. F. Brissenden, David Campbell, Tom Shapcott, Les Murray, Judith Rodriguez and three of the original Canberra group – Alan Gould, David Brooks and Philip Mead.

There are also copies of other publications including The skald mosaic by Alan Gould; Lyrical dust by Robert Crocker; Sketches from Herodotus by R. F. Brissenden; Encounters by David Campbell and The Convert by Kevin Hart.

1 folder

Series 9. Other papers, 1986-88

The series consists of miscellaneous papers. There are a number of photocopies of the contents pages of various literary journals. There is also an abstract and associated correspondence for a proposed paper for the Association for the Study of Australian Literature conference held in Launceston, 1987.

1 folder

Box List

Box

Series

Folder/Piece

1

1

1-6

2

1

7-12

3

1

13-17

4

1

18-22

5

2

1

5

3

1-14

6

3

15-22

7

3

23-28

8

3

29-35

9

3

36-40

10

3

41-42

10

4

1

11

4

2-3

12

4

4-10

13

4

11-12

13

5

1-5

14

5

6-10

14

6

1-2

15

6

3-9

16

6

10-11

16

7

1-2

16

8

1

16

9

1

Guide prepared June 1999