Writers Voice September 2011 - Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW

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historic FAW Memoir to be published cont. from page 1 closely to her father, PE (Patrick Edward) Quinn and his brother Roderic Quinn. Marjorie, at age eleven, published her first story, a fairytale, ‘Pinksie and the White Kangaroo’, in 1908. Roderic Quinn was born in 1867 and was considered one of the leading poets in Australia. He was among the prolific writers who answered the call to formally organise a better deal for Australian culture and enable Australian writers and Australian literature to be recognised and take its place with pride and exert nationwide influence. Added to that, Roderic’s older brother and Marjorie’s father, P E Quinn, born in 1862, studied law and became a journalist working for the Star, Echo and Illustrated Sydney News newspapers. PE was the Member for Bligh in the NSW Legislative Assembly from 18981904 and was Deputy Trade Commissioner for NSW in the USA from 19121917. The family’s involvement in Australia’s early literature had as their closest friends, Mary Gilmore, Miles Franklin, Norman Lindsay, John Le Gay Brereton, Steele Rudd, Henry Lawson, Walter Stone, in fact all the names that drop off our tongues, were real people with real lives of which Marjorie’s Memoir shares with her readers. The book, The Years The Locust Hath Eaten, the title of the Memoir, includes many anecdotes of the relationships between these writers and records the histories of their poetic and journalistic careers as well as the formation of the organisations P.E.N. (an international club for Poets, Editors, Essayists and Novelists) in Australia, the FAW (Fellowship of Australian Writers) and the Society of Women Writers. The manuscript goes to print for December launch As Marjorie never married, her personal effects including the manuscript, were left to her cousin Noreen Quinn (Kathy and Deb’s aunt). After her death Kathy and Deb recognised the importance of what was nearly discarded to the trash, in the house cleanup. Their wonderment when reading the manuscript gave rise to excitement and the fear that unless they could find some help to conserve the work it might be ‘lost’ forever. They referred to the references in the manuscript about the Fellowship of Australian Writers, contacted the President, Trevar Langlands and the rest is proceeding as I write. This wonderful and unique book will be published in December 2011 and all FAW members are invited to the Launch. Marjorie’s original manuscript was lodged in the National Library in Canberra in 1967, however there is no ‘published’ edition. A letter given to FAW from Kathy and Deb, shows that in 1958 The Society of Women Writers donated an electric typewriter to Marjorie Quinn, who at that time was having trouble physically handwriting. The gesture was to assist her to continue giving Australia her poetry. Well as we now know, Marjorie did more than that, she produced this 297 page manuscript of her memoirs. Let me share just a little with you… Marjorie’s father, PE Quinn mixed in high literature circles always and the young Marjorie frequently accompanied her father to events, functions, discussions and meetings and therefore met poets, journalists and writers at an early age. In adulthood she was already on friendly terms with these companions and in her book is able to relate many anecdotes of daily life and situations from her own experiences. Added to that are many stories relayed to her from some of those companions which are entertaining to say the least. She tells one tale of her meeting with a prominent journalist on the staff of The Daily Telegraph, A.H. (Alec) Chisholm, whom she had first met in the 1920s. One Saturday, her father, with Uncle Roderic, Alec and Marjorie took the tram from Manly to Narrabeen… “I, being very grateful to be one of the company…” she states. Extract: I was intrigued to meet someone who was so friendly with the birds that he (Alec) could converse with them! Believe it or not, when we alighted from the tram, just across the road the bush encroached… Alec looked around, he began to make sounds, pursing his mouth into an odd shape. In no time, birds gathered around. They chirped back happily. He must be saying the right thing! I cogitated. The birds seemed happy and not at all shy. There was a Jacky Winter and a Honey-eater perched on nearby branches. A bird with a musical note flew down… Watching this nature-lover I thought that I, too, could converse with the birds. I chirped, pursed my lips and beat a small tattoo on them with my fingers as it seemed A.H. had done. They weren’t even polite enough to stay, but away they winged and I thought disdain showed in that hasty flight. Away too, flew my notions of getting to know these bush creatures – Alas, my descriptions in verse would never advance beyond the hackneyed, “A brown bird sang In a tall gum tree.” I looked at Uncle Rod for sympathy, and he smiled a rueful smile. “I’m afraid it is a case of unrequited love, Marge,” he said dolefully. “Our feathered friends will have none of us!” Alec Chisholm came another day later in the season and we repeated that walk which was a favourite of ours. I watched and listened with a certain envy to him talking, and listening to his bird associates. Marjorie tells us the story of how she was invited by some of the leading Sydney women writers to help them in the founding of a Society of Women Writers. The circumstances around that situation in 1925 and the friendships that evolved are treasures of history and worth reading. Just a short three years later, again Marjorie’s talents and skills were called upon to join with a group of writers at the Lyceum Club where Professor le Gay Brereton of Sydney University was elected President. Mary Gilmore and Steele Rudd were 14 WRITERS’ VOICE 233—SEPTEMBER 2011 Visit us on the Internet at www.fawnsw.org.au
elected Vice Presidents with Marjorie Quinn as Honorary Secretary and along with a strong committee, including many representative writers, formed the inaugural executive of The Fellowship of Australian Writers. Marjorie writes, There was an air of excitement abroad that afternoon. For so long, most of us had been wishing and hoping for some such association to be formed so that we would be able to further our cause, “The welfare of Australian literature”, with good comrades about us. The lot of the young or inexperienced writer was a hard one in those days. Rod Quinn was there, Lucy Cassidy and Walter Jago, the editor of “Aussie”. All had been, with Mary Gilmore, staunch supporters of this cause. Now it seemed at long last that local authors, poets and scenario writers would receive practical encouragement. Marjorie Quinn’s words show a fondness for her companions and a genuine support of each other by the writers of the day, certainly no competition or hostility between them. She writes many tales of their meetings and socialising occasions which give us a peek into the real people behind the famous names we have grown to know but only through their writings. One last story I will relate to you here, though it is only one of many such anecdotes that amused me, includes Miles Franklin… When my Uncle Roderic was young, he sometimes used to go to the home of the Kidgell’s where the sisters Ada, afterwards Mrs Holman, Una and Stella held bright gatherings. Somewhat radical, they were very Avant Garde, especially for those days! At one of these gatherings one Sunday night, he met Stella Miles Franklin, a young girl who had recently published a novel, My Brilliant Career, about which all Sydney was talking. She was a country girl from near Visit us on the Internet at www.fawnsw.org.au Miles Franklin, circa 1940s. Image source: Wikipedia Goulburn and seemed very quiet and unsophisticated. She was staying in Mosman with E.W.O’Sullivan and his family, Eva O’Sullivan being a friend of hers. The Kidgells and their friends felt some responsibility for this young country girl, abroad in a strange city. Sunday night ferries stopped earlier than they do now, so it was necessary for Miss Franklin to leave the party somewhat early to catch her boat. The question was, who would go with her to the ferry? Somebody who would be courteous to a young woman and who was considered reliable. The choice fell on Roderic so he and the strange country girl set off to the Quay. (The Kidgell home was a big old-fashioned cottage in grounds on the corner of Bligh Street, therefore they had not far to walk.) My Uncle Rod conducted what seemed to be a quiet, shy girl to the Mosman wharf. There was just time for her to catch the ferry. He was about to put her through the stile, when she suddenly brought up some question of change. My uncle started to delve in his pocket, and she said there was not time to wait, and would he go over to the kiosk and get the correct change. He did this, muttering to himself that ‘he was sure he had it, if he could only get it out!’ When he came back there was no sign of Stella Miles Franklin. Very concerned, he hurried about, peering into peoples’ faces. He even went through on to the wharf, but just then the last bell rang. There was still no young girl from the bush. Uncle was confounded. What had he done to frighten this young girl away? He was not at all an amorous young man, that was really why he was chosen, yet in some way, he must have offended her susceptibilities, he mused. He would have to go back and tell the others. When he went back and told them, they were all astounded, and anxious too, but the mystery could not be solved. They wondered what Eva O’Sullivan would think when her friend did not return. Uncle Rod met Miles Franklin occasionally during the intervening years but it was not LAUNCH INVITATION Keep a lookout for the official Invitation to the Launch Event, to be held at the NSW State Library’s Dixon Room on 10 December 2011. It is an open initation that will be issued to all FAW members via your Branch committee, from Kathy Berryman and Deb McMahon. Don’t miss this very special FAW occasion. until his seventy-ninth birthday, when his cousin, Mrs Mary Teresa Quinn was giving a party in his honour at her home, that he heard the truth of what happened that night. There were nearly seventy of us in that room, when suddenly Miles Franklin, who was a guest, stood up. She said she would now tell Rod what happened on that night so long ago. “I suppose you have often wondered?” she added, with a little smile. It appeared that she was far from being the country mouse that most people thought her, and being very keen about the status of women, she had decided to do a little investigating of her own while staying with Eva O’Sullivan. She had heard that… I think I should leave you with this tease – you can read Marjorie’s book and find out the end of the story. I’m sure that by now you will understand why Trevar and I are so excited about this ‘find’ and this project. We are so pleased that Kathy made contact with us and hope you will enjoy this historical treasure as much as we are enjoying, helping to bring it to life. Colleen Parker, Secretary FAW NSW PS: I am nearly inspired to take up the pen and write about the term during my time as Hon. Secretary, it’s been a ride worth reading about too. o WRITERS’ VOICE 233—SEPTEMBER 2011 15
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Page 3 and 4: State Council News ANNOUNCEMENT: AT
Page 5 and 6: Sydney Harbour Bridge’! Twice a s
Page 7 and 8: FAW Branch Reports Blue Mountains f
Page 9 and 10: plot; on the quality of the narrati
Page 11 and 12: Shawna Hartley’s May assignment w
Page 13: sizes, margins, headers and footers
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Page 19 and 20: Competition Results results: eastwo
Page 21 and 22: Articles Keeping The Short Story al
Page 23 and 24: Jacqui Winn: 2nd prize Brighton Com
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Page 27 and 28: WATERLINE WRITING COMPETITION cont.
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Page 31 and 32: PorT STePHenS FaW 3rd Thursday - 10

Writers Voice September 2011 - Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW

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