Mascara Literary Review reported today on social media that poet, academic, critic and editor Lyn Hatherley had died last Thursday evening.

Lyn’s biographical note in Mascara (Issue 12 2012 http://mascarareview.com/lyn-hatherly/) gives a small glimpse of her importance to Australian Poetry and literature in general:

Lyn Hatherly spends much of her time doing something about writing: editing, publishing, writing, and teaching. Some writers have been working with her – as members of The Writing Zone club – since 1997. Currently, apart from teaching writing and mentoring other writers, she’s one of the managing editors of  Five Islands Press. In the past she was one of the founding board members of Australia Poetry, editor of Poetry Monash and the Medal Poets Series. In between lecturing in North Queensland Lyn set off in her small green car on a Writer on Wheels tour funded by the Regional Writing Fund. She also acted as poetry editor for LiNQ. Lyn has three published books: Acts of Abrasion (Five Islands Press 2006) Sappho’s Sweetbitter Songs (Routledge 1996) Songs of Silence (Medal Poets 1994). She contributes poetry and reviews to journals and anthologies and has won several awards.

Issue 12 of Mascara also contains two poems by Lyn including the beautiful ‘Shearwaters’  http://mascarareview.com/lyn-hatherly/

Some of her other work can be found on line in:

• The Same Old Game on the Australian Poetry website:   http://www.australianpoetry.org/misc/game-lyn-hatherly/
• ‘Kakadu billabong in Yegge, cool weather time’ In Plumwood Mountain  http://plumwoodmountain.com/kakadu-billabong-in-yegge-cool-weather-time/

A public memorial ceremony is planned for early April and will be held in the Great Hall at Montsalvat, Eltham, Victoria.

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