Papers of Lily Brett
MSS 240

Collection Description

The papers document Brett's writings from 1979, including her poetry, short stories, novels, essays, newspaper columns, articles and reviews, together with several unpublished works, including a screenplay.

Administrative / Biographical history

Lily Brett was born in a displaced persons' camp in Germany. Her Jewish parents were survivors of the Lodz Ghetto and Auschwitz. Her family moved to Melbourne in 1948, and in 1961 Brett began her literary career writing for the Australian rock magazine Go-Set. The Auschwitz poems (1986) received great critical acclaim for its expression of the feelings and experiences of second-generation Holocaust survivors, a theme which is prevalent throughout her writing. Her terse, short poems elliptically recreate the experience of her parents' generation in a style whose minimalism accentuates the horrors of what is being depicted. Her stories are characterised by their adept movements between horror, excesses and the exaggerated behaviour of what is reductively known as Jewish humour.

Much of Brett's writing is autobiographical or semi-autobiographical. Brett also writes intimately about her experiences with sex, body image and food. Her frank writing about her interactions with her family, particularly her relationship with her mother, led to a public rift with her sister, the author and psychologist Doris Brett, who challenged the veracity of the account. In 1991 Brett moved to New York with her second husband, the Australian painter David Rankin. Her essay collections In full view (1997), New York (2001) and Between Mexico and Poland (2002) present her experiences as an expatriate.

Brett's publications include The Auschwitz poems (1986)
Poland and other poems (1987)
After the war (1990)
Things could be worse (1990)
What God wants (1991)
Unintended consequences (1992)
Just like that (1994)
In her strapless dresses (1994)
Mud in my tears (1997)
In full view (1997)
Collected stories (1999)
Too many men (1999)
New York (2001)
Between Mexico and Poland (2002)
You gotta have balls (2005)
Blistered days (2007). She has also contributed poetry, short stories and articles to Australian and overseas journals and newspapers.

Brett's awards include: Australian Literature Society Gold Medal, 2003: shortlisted for Between Mexico and Poland
Commonwealth Writers Prize, South-East Asia and South Pacific Region, Best Book from the Region Award, 2000: winner for Too many men
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, 1995: winner for Just like that
Warana Writers' Awards, Steele Rudd Award, 1992: winner for What God wants
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, C.J. Dennis Award for Poetry, 1987: winner for The Auschwitz poems
Mattara Poetry Prize, 1986: winner for 'Poland'

References:
AustLit : The Resource for Australian Literature, March 2007.

Acquisition Details

Scope and Content

This collection comprises journals, notebooks, correspondence, manuscript and typescript drafts, notes, research material, computer discs and photographs. The papers reflect the voice and presence of a dedicated and passionate post-Holocaust writer. A notable aspect of the collection is a series of notebooks, spanning nearly two decades, which richly detail Brett's personal life and literary career.

The papers offer detailed documentation of Brett's writings from 1979, including her poetry, short stories, novels, essays, newspaper columns, articles and reviews, as well as several unpublished works, including a screenplay. There are working papers for eleven of Brett's publications, including:
The Auschwitz poems (1986)
Poland and other poems (1987)
After the war (1990), Things could be worse (1990)
What God wants (1991), Unintended consequences (1992)
Just like that (1994), In her strapless dresses (1994)
Mud in my tears (1997)
In full view (1997)
Too many men (1999).

The correspondence series includes a large proportion of draft letters by Brett, and these contribute to an understanding of her personal relationships, and her abiding interests and concerns. Among the major correspondents are The Age, Angus and Robertson, Caroline Baum, Inara [Johnston?], Macmillan, Meanjin, Overland, Petrushka Owen, Christopher Pollnitz and Southerly.

System of arrangement

The original order of this collection has largely been retained by the Library.

Access Restrictions

Reproduction Restrictions

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