Guide to the Papers of Cheryl Creatrix
MS 6422
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Cheryl Creatrix
- Title
- Papers of Cheryl Creatrix
- Date Range
- ca. 1959-2004
- Collection Number
- MS 6422
- Extent
- 4.2 metres (20 boxes, 1 large carton, 4 packets, 1 folder, 1 folio packet)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- National Library of Australia
Introduction
Scope and Contents
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.
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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]'.
Provenance
The papers were purchased by the Library in 1978 and 1982. Further papers were added in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2011.
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.
Item Descriptions
Class MS 6422. Original Consignment/s
Series 1. Correspondence, 1971-81
Most of the correspondence in this series comprises business letters relating to Poetry Society publications. Although the bulk of the letters have been organized in date order in this series, there are letters to be found throughout the collection. Letters dealing entirely with the magazine Beyond Poetry are in the third series, and some letters with contributions to New Poetry attached are in the second series.
Correspondents include: Bill Beard; Thomas Shapcott; Geoffrey Dutton; Robert Harris; Bruce Beaver; John Tranter; Robert Bertholf; Eve Abbey; Rosemary Dobson; Ron Blair; David Campbell; Rodney Hall; Bruce Dawe; Garry Hutchinson; Jim Davidson; John Jenkins; Fay Zwicky; Jan Harry; Gwen Harwood; John Millet; Albee Thomas; Michael McClure; Vicki Viidikas; Jennifer Maiden; Judith Wright; Roger McDonald; Max Williams; Finola Moorhead; Clive Evatt; Stephen Murray-Smith; Alan Wearne; Judith Rodriguez; Stephanie Bennett; Ian Reid; Tony Coleing; Richard Tipping; Jimmy Taylor; Robert Duncan; John Blight; Tim Thorne; Terry Gillmore; John Caitlin; Sylvia Kantarizis; Michael Denholm; Andrew Taylor; Vidya Sharma; Vincent Buckley; Bill Jones; Ron Simpson ; John Montgomery; John Blay; David Brooks; Chris Wallace-Crabbe; Stephen Murray.
The correspondence with David Brooks, the US-Canadian representative of New Poetry covers the years 1975-80.
Series 2. New poetry, 1975-78
New Poetry, which first appeared in 1971, was Australia's leading poetry magazine, publishing an extensive range of contemporary poetry from well known Australian and overseas poets, as well as lesser-known new writers and previously unpublished ones. As editor in the years 1976-78 Creatrix accumulated drafts, galley proofs and published copies of the magazine. Some of the typescripts have covering notes from writers including David Campbell, Fay Zwicky, and Robert Creely. Contributions from David Malouf, Tim Thorne, Philip Roberts, Sylvia Kantarizis, Richard Harland, Denise Leverton, Alexander Craig and Nevill Drury are in folder 21.
The Adamsons organized and financed a reading tour by the American poet Robert Duncan in September 1975. The material relating to the tour, including correspondence and an itinerary, is in folder 27.
Series 3. Beyond poetry, 1974-5
This leaflet style magazine, appearing as often as finances allowed, was published eight times by Creatrix and Chris Edwards. Rosemary Dobson's and David Campbell's parallel versions of four short poems by the Russian poet Osip Mandelstam are included, with a suggested layout for their publication. There are two letters from Dobson on the subject among the sixty letters in the series. Correspondents include Jeff Geddes, Henri Quin, Sylvia Kantarizis, Bob Harris, John Millet and Donald Hall.
An annotated manuscript review by John Byrnes of the first two issues is included. John Millett, Mark McGuire, Max Williams and Cheryl Adamson contributed to the second edition.
Series 4. Prism books, 1976-77
Creatrix edited Prism Books, one of the publishing arms of the Poetry Society of Australia. There are all the stages of development of manuscripts through to publication in this series, including mock-ups and galleys. Writers published by Prism and represented in the collection, include Dorothy Hewett, Max Williams, Jennifer Maiden, Sylvia Kantarizis, Tim Thorne, K.L. Macrae, Dorothy Porter, Stephen Murray, David Malouf, and Robert Adamson.
There is also a scrapbook of reviews, including Poor man's bean, Rapunzel in suburbia, The dragon principle, Little Hoodlum, The amazing scaffold, and The Venice poem (Robert Duncan).
Series 5. Miscellaneous writing
The miscellaneous series consists of unpublished poems, plays and prose, works published but not by Prism, and works whose publishing history is uncertain.
With the poems of American Ken Liberman is Desert Roads, and a letter to Cheryl Adamson telling of his intention to publish his Australian poems himself. There are two plays of Dorothy Hewett, one noted as a 'working script'. This play titled "The chapel perilous" was published by Currency Press in 1972. "The big time" is a feature film treatment of the true story of champion boxer Les Darcy, by Norman Ingram. Ingram's letter to Creatrix about publishing it is included. There is a handwritten draft of Space Warp by Dal Stivens, published by Wild & Woolly. Also in the series are some 'alternative' publications, Zilch, and Dadactic.
Series 6. Poetry Society of Australia, 1973-76
The Society's minutes for the four years 1973-76, and the audited statements for 1973-75 are included. The minutes of the poetry meeting of 7 July 1975 are attached to transcripts of poems to be read.
Correspondence is included in folder 3. There is a letter from Rosemary Dobson to Robert Adamson concerning a new Brindabella Press publication Gold coins.
Series 7. Poetry readings, 1975-76
The series of four booked-out poetry readings in the Music Room of the Opera House, organised by Creatrix under the auspices of the Poetry Society of Australia, included Judith Wright, A.D. Hope, Rosemary Dobson, David Campbell, Dorothy Hewett, Rodney Hall, Robert Adamson and John Tranter. Performances were on 4 March, 7 June, 5 September and 9 December 1975.
The series consists of correspondence, including letters from Hope and Dobson, a scrapbook, and administrative papers. There is a folder of material relating to other poetry readings.
Series 8. Robert Adamson
Some personal material of Robert Adamson is in the collection: his application for a Literature Board Fellowship, a letter of congratulations from Richard Walsh for his 1978 Grace Leven poetry prize, and letters from Les Murray concerning contributions for an Australian edition of an American magazine New Letters.
Adamson's brief diary covering 6-16 February (1976?) has loose pages of notes and biographical information compiled for his book Cross the Border.
Series 9. Miscellaneous, 1972-79
There are two folders in this series, a miscellaneous one, and a collection of reviews and interviews from the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian. Most of the reviews were written by Robert Adamson.
The miscellaneous folder consists of single copies of Togatus, and Faikava (April 1978), publicity notices for forthcoming publications, exhibitions, and poetry readings, and information sheets on the history of Berowra and the Windybank family.