Papers of John Forbes
MSS 294
Collection Title
Papers of John ForbesCollection Identifier
MSS 294Inclusive date(s)
1980 to 2002Extent and Medium
Creator(s)
Category
Subject: Terms(s)
Subject: Person(s)
Collection Description
This collection includes correspondence, manuscript and typescript drafts of poems, book reviews, reader's reports and articles by Forbes. There are also interview transcripts and writings regarding Forbes, and drafts of poetry and prose sent to Forbes.
Administrative / Biographical history
John Patrick Edward Forbes was born in Melbourne, on 1 September 1950, and lived most of his early life in New Guinea, Malaya and Sydney. He completed is Higher School Certificate at De La Salle College, Cronulla in 1968. He graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Arts Honours in 1973. He was a poet, teacher, editor and reviewer and had been publishing his own poetry since 1969. From 1984, he taught creative writing and was writer-in-residence at various secondary schools, colleges and universities in Australia and England. He was invited to read poetry at schools, colleges, universities, libraries and at festivals.
Forbes' poetry, reviews and articles were published in various Australian anthologies, journals and newspapers. His poetry was widely reviewed; he has been the subject of a variety of biographical works, and critical analyses have been written regarding his work and contribution to Australian literature. He edited and produced Surfers Paradise 1974-c. 1992; he reviewed poetry, prose, art and non-fiction for the Age, Australian, Sunday herald, Melbourne, 1990-1991 and the Sydney morning herald; he was poetry editor of Scripsi 1990-1993, poetry reader/editor for Freemantle Arts Centre Press 1990-1993, poetry editor and consultant Angus & Robertson (HarperCollins) 1994, and non-fiction consultant for Meanjin 1995-1997.
Forbes was awarded several scholarships, prizes and grants, including the Teachers and Commonwealth Scholarship 1968, Commonwealth Post-graduate Scholarship 1973 and the Arthur Macquarie Travelling Fellowship 1975; the Poetry Society of Australia Award 1972, New Poetry Award 1973, H.M. Butterley - F. Earle-Hooper Memorial Award 1976 (for best contribution to Southerly). His writing has been recognised with the award of numerous grants, from the Literature Board of the Australia Council in 1974, 1982, 1988 and 1990, the residency award at the Australia Council B.R. Whiting Library, Rome 1993, and a four-year Senior Writers Fellowship 1995. He also received an Australian Bicentennial Authority grant 1984, and an Arts Council of Victoria grant 1994.
Forbes' publications have been produced by main stream publishers and in various ephemeral and small press formats. They include Tropical skiing (1976), On the beach (1977), Stalin's holidays : poems (1980), Drugs (1981), The stunned mullet & other poems (1988, partially funded by the Australian Bicentennial Authority - contains the poem 'On the beach : a Bicentennial poem'), Thin ice & other poems (1989), New and selected poems (1991), Troubador : poems (1993) and Roman poems (1994); the following books were published posthumously Humidity (1998), Damaged glamour (1998) and Collected poems, 1970-1998 (2001).
Forbes died on 23 January 1998, aged 47 years. In 2002 Brandl & Schlesinger published a collection of essays, poems, interviews and letters, illuminating the life and work of Forbes entitled Homage to John Forbes, edited by Ken Bolton.
Acquisition Details
Scope and Content
The papers of John Forbes feature personal and professional correspondence between Forbes and writers such as Laurie Duggan, John Kinsella, Les Murray and John Tranter. There are also drafts and page proofs of Forbes' book New and selected poems (1991). Other elements of the collection include drafts of poems and prose writings by Forbes, interview transcripts and book reviews, and manuscript and typescript drafts of poems sent to Forbes. Poems by other writers include poems sent to Forbes for the journal Surfers Paradise, No. 5. The collection covers a small but intense period of Forbes' literary work.
System of arrangement
This collection has been rearranged into eight artificial series to describe and preserve context and relationships.
Access Restrictions
Other
This collection is available for research.Reproduction Restrictions
Existence and Location of Orginals
Related and Separated Materials
This collection originally included a number of publications, listed below. These works have been separately catalogued.
Drawings, A. F. (Ken Bolton). 'A small portfolio of drawings of covers'.
Nash, Ken (Mark O'Connor). Ode to Iggy Pop.
Salmon, Philip and Kinsella, John. Poems.
Leatherjacket, No. 2, June 1974.
Slug, No. 2.
Surfers Paradise, Nos. 1-4.
Your friendly fascist. Nos. 17, 21, 22.
Forbes, John. Humidity. Cambridge: Equipage, 1998.
Forbes, John. The stunned mullet & other poems. Sydney: Hale & Iremonger, 1988.
Forbes, John. Roman poems. [Sydney]: Michael Forbes, 1994.
Forbes, John. Troubador. Applecross, Western Australia: Folio Press, 1993.
Fern Hill edited by Robert Peters. Wentworthville: Robert Peters, c. 1970.
Landbridge : contemporary Australian poetry edited by John Kinsella. North Fremantle, Western Australia: Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 1999.
Kelen, Christopher. Eleven poems. Bulahdelah: Chris Kelen, 1992.
Ear in the wheatfield, Second series, no. 9, July 1974.
Ear in the wheatfield, Second series, no. 17, Autumn 1976.
New poetry, Volume 25, no. 1, 1976.
New poetry, Volume 25, no. 2, 1976.
Meanjin, Volume 47, no. 1, Autumn 1988.
Poet's choice, 1974.
Further papers relating to John Forbes are held by the Fryer Library, University of Queensland, at UQFL 148; University of Sydney Library, University of Sydney, at MS 0012 Guide to the Papers of Erica Bell; Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, (call number not provided) John Forbes literary papers, and the Oral History Section, National Library of Australia.
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.