Papers of Robert Harris
MSS 038
Collection Title
Papers of Robert HarrisCollection Identifier
MSS 038Inclusive date(s)
1985 to 1993Extent and Medium
Creator(s)
Category
Subject: Terms(s)
Subject: Person(s)
Collection Description
Correspondence, essays, drafts, notes.
Administrative / Biographical history
Robert Harris, poet, 1951-1993.
Robert Harris was born in Melbourne and educated at Dovetown High School. He enlisted in the Australian Navy in 1968 during the Vietnam War. During the 1970s he spent time in a commune. He was married but separated from his wife in the 1980s with no children. He lived in Sydney in the later part of his life. Harris died in 1993 of a heart attack. His obituary in The Sydney Morning Herald stated that "he followed his own poetic path with little regard for the niceties of a literary career."
Harris was involved in literary magazines as an author and as an editor. He worked as an editor for New Poetry magazine and for Overland magazine. Five books of his poetry were published. They cover a number of themes including defence force related.
Seven Songs for Sydney (10 poems), concerning the Royal Australian Navy cruiser HMAS Sydney and its sinking in World War II. Harris had served, possibly in the troopship of the same name during the Vietnam War, and felt a strong sympathetic connection to the sailors. It has the dedication "This poem is dedicated to those who perished in Sydney, their families and shipmates." It was performed at a poetry reading performance in 1987 at La Mama Theatre, produced by Barry Dickins. It was performed by Dickins in August 2008 for the ABC Radio Poetica program when the wreck of the cruiser was discovered.
Reference: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Harris_(poet)
Acquisition Details
Scope and Content
This collection relates to the poet Robert Harris and includes correspondence, essays, poetry drafts and notes.
Access Restrictions
Other
Access: Check with Curator
This collection contains a variety of copyright material. Copyright is held by the creator of each item. Specific conditions for this collection are listed below. If no conditions are stipulated then the standard terms of the Copyright Act apply for published and unpublished items. Digitised material from manuscript collections is provided to clients by UNSW Canberra in good faith for private study and research only, and may not be published or re-purposed without the express and written permission of the individual legal holder of that copyright. Refer also to the UNSW copyright, disclaimer and takedown policy.
Copying: Check with Curator
Existence and Location of Orginals
Disclaimer
This collection contains a variety of copyright material. Copyright is held by the creator of each item. Specific conditions for this collection are listed above. If no conditions are stipulated then the standard terms of the Copyright Act apply for published and unpublished items. Digitised material from manuscript collections is provided to clients by UNSW Canberra in good faith for private study and research only, and may not be published or re-purposed without the express and written permission of the individual legal holder of that copyright. Refer also to the UNSW copyright, disclaimer and takedown policy.