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Thylazine: The Australian Journal of Arts, Ethics & Literature                                                                                                                                      #11/thyla11l AUSTRALIAN POETS SERIES 11 Mark O'Flynn, Kathryn Hamann, Les Wicks, Liz Hall-Downs, Justin Lowe, Erica Jolly, Gershon Holtz, Jenni Nixon, Duncan Williams, Katharine Annear, John Jenkins and Lucy Holt Selected by Coral Hull Mark O'Flynn Mark O'Flynn began writing for the theatre after graduating from the VCA. He has had seven plays professionally produced, including Eleanor & Eve, and Paterson's Curse, published by Currency Press in 1988. As a playwright he has worked for numerous community theatre companies including The Mill Theatre Company, MRPG, Riverina Theatre Company, as well as the Victorian Arts Council T.I.E wing. He was writer-in-residence at Deakin University in 1985 and 1987. He has also published a novella, Captain Cook, and two books of poetry, The Too Bright Sun, and The Good Oil. He has had several short stories read on radio 5UV, and has read his own work on ABC ...    [Above] Photo of Mark O'Flynn by Kim Huynh, 2004. Kathryn Hamann Kathryn Hamann was born in Melbourne. She completed a BSc. with Honours at Monash University and a Diploma of Education at Rusden. From 1978 - 1980 she lived in the United States. On returning to Australia she worked in the Biochemistry Deparment at Monash University. She began writing poetry in 1991 as a refuge from doing her Greek translation. She has produced a body of political poetry most of which is satirical. The work most important to her are her poems of spiritual journey. Her spiritual tradition is Christian and within that the stream she feels closest is to the mystics. Kathryn is currently ...    [Above] Drawing of Kathryn Hamann by Conrad Hamann, 2002. Les Wicks Les Wicks grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney in a house with few books. A skinny kid with asthma, he learnt to use his mouth to get into and out of trouble. Vietnam savagely divided his family and taught him early activism. By 17 Les had his first poem accepted & was school organiser for the students' strike of 1972. He did a history degree over some years as well as a variety of unskilled and semiskilled jobs while living in Sydney and London. In the late Seventies he embarked on his first publishing exercise - Meuse - and helped set up the Poets Union. By the 80s Les retrained for ...    [Above] Photo of Les Wicks by Brian Tonkin, 2000. Liz Hall-Downs Liz Hall-Downs has been reading and performing poetry in public, on TV and radio in Australia and the USA, and publishing in journals, since 1983. She holds a BA from Deakin University (Victoria) with major studies in Professional Writing & Literature and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Queensland. Some of Liz Hall Down's publications include: Fit of Passion, (with Kim Downs), (Fit of Passion Collective, 1997), Girl With Green Hair, (Papyrus Publishing, 2000), People of the Wetlands, (Brisbane City Council, 1996), Mountains to Mangroves, and Mountains to Mangroves Haiku Cycle, (Brisbane City Council and Queensland Wildlife ...    [Above] Photo of Liz Hall-Downs and Alice by Kim Downs, 2001. Justin Lowe Born in Sydney in 1964, Justin spent much of his formative years on the Spanish island of Minorca, an experience around which he is busy shaping a novel. After completing his studies, Justin moved to England before settling back in Newtown for the duration of the 90's. There he edited the seminal Homebrew and published two collections of poetry, as well as penning songs for such diverse musical outfits such as The Whitlams and The Impossibles and Sydney jazz diva Lily Dior and composing dithyrambic text for the annual Mascon Festival. Justin currently resides in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and recently completed a poetry commission for the 2004 Sydney Festival. Justin has been ...    [Above] Photo of Justin Lowe by photographer unknown, year unknown. Erica Jolley Erica Jolly was born in Adelaide (South Australia) in 1933. After many years involved in her art, an illustrated first collection of poetry entitled Pomegranates was produced by Lythrum Press in 2003. Erica Jolly is an outspoken and well-known critic of social injustice and her humanism has been evident in the South Australian Education Department, especially in relation to gender equality, and beyond. Erica Jolly¹s publications began in 1977 with the joint not-for-profit publication with Frances Wells of an anthology for students: Help Yourselves: An Anthology of Contemporary Writing on Food which included contributions from ...    [Above] Photo of Erica Jolly by Ben Harkin, 2002. Gershon Holtz Gershon Holtz is the nom de plume of Gary Maller playing the role of historical muse. In 2004 Gary was awarded a major grant from Arts Queensland to write a collection of poems exploring narratives and themes in Renaissance Italian art. His previous collections Nights in the Gardens of Spain (Post Pressed, 2002) and Night Breathing (Metro Arts Press, 1993) continue to receive excellent reviews in Australia and abroad. A founding member of the Queensland Poetry Association, Gary was an active participant in Amnesty Poetry readings at Metro Arts Brisbane during the early 1990s. In addition to poetry, Gary writes for publications and corporations in Australia and the USA. He holds a first class honours ...    [Above] Photo of Gershon Holtz by Cameron Outridge, 2006. Jenni Nixon Jenni Nixon graduated the Independent Theatre School, Sydney, and worked as a professional actor for many years - visitor at home won the 2002 Leonard Teale memorial performance prize at the Henry Lawson Festival, Gulgong, NSW. Published in small press anthologies including: Sappho’s Dreams & Delights, Open Boat Barbed Wire Sky, Falling for Grace, Breaking Free, Overland, Southerly, Ask the Rain, Light on Don Bank, Social Alternatives. Essays: Poetry New Zealand, Newswrite and Five Bells. Radio interviews: Gaywaves, The Red Room Company & ABC’s Poetica/ The Open Air - Robyn Ravlich -Vicki Vidiikas ...    [Above] Photo of Jenni Nixon by Tracey Beckler, 2003. Duncan Williams Duncan Williams was born in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia in 1969. Duncan began writing poetry in the early 1990's. His first poem "The 1991 Test" was published in New Visions: a poetry anthology by Writers World on the Queensland Gold Coast. At 21, Duncan became a member of the Henry Lawson society of NSW and in 1999 he was involved in a sponsorship to restore a manuscript written by Lawson. Duncan is a proud author and his poems have been collected in many anthologies in the United States, England, India and Australia. Duncan has self-published two books, Some verses i have wriiten and Old bushman's boots, an eight verse poem set to illustration. In ...    [Above] Photo of Duncan Williams by Agfa-foto, 2004. Katharine Annear Katharine Annear is a Developmental Educator, a lecturer, artist and writer. Katharine is autistic and was institutionalised at the age of 19; having survived this she is now an advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. She is co-convener of the Australian Network of Autistic Self Advocates. She has been published in local anthologies Vernacular and The Colonial Athens, The One Heart, One World International Poetry Collection and BirlZine! Phoenix, Arizona. Her artwork (photography and sculpture) has been exhibited throughout South Australia. Katharine works as a consultant with the South Australian Government, developing quality educational practice for students ...    [Above] Photo of Katharine Annear by Katharine Annear, 2005. John Jenkins John Jenkins lives in Kangaroo Ground, on the fringe of the Yarra Valley. A poet, journalist, editor and teacher of wide experience, John has been writing for the past 35 years, and is the author of eight collections of poetry and two non-fiction books on Australian music. He has also edited a collection of travel stories and two books of short fiction. He has won several prizes and awards and written numerous essays, reviews and articles. His verse novel, A Break in the Weather (Modern Writing Press) appeared in 2003 and his most recent poetry collection is Dark River (Five Islands Press, 2003). His work has also been extensively broadcast on ...    [Above] Photo of John Jenkins by Jenni Mitchell, 2003. Lucy Holt Lucy Holt is a Melbourne-based writer and undergraduate student in History and Gender Studies. Her first poetry collection, Stories of Bird, will be published in late 2005 as part of a Poets Union (NSW) Emerging Writers' Fellowship. Her 'Self-Portrait with Red Bird' won the 2005 Woorilla Prize. Her poems can be found in international journals softblow (Singapore), nthposition (Canada & UK), Feminist Studies (USA), Annetna Nepo (USA) and Stylus (Australia), and national publications Meanjin, Verandah, Poetrix and My Perfect Diary. ...    [Above] Photo of Lucy Holt by photographer unknown, 2005. I Next I Back I Exit I Thylazine No.11 (June, 2006)