Jill Hellyer
Encyclopedia
Jill Hellyer is an Australian poet and writer, and one of the founding members of the Australian Society of Authors
. She is the recipient of an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to Australian poetry.
, Australia, to parents Harold and Ruby. Her father died when Jill was a child, followed by her elder brother Allan, who died of a chronic illness in his teenage years. Jill's mother, Ruby, was diagnosed with leukaemia and died when Jill was 12. Jill was sent to live with two unmarried aunts in the Sydney suburb of Seaforth, who raised her until adulthood and inspired several of her better-known poems, including "Living With Aunts", which is included in The Puncher and Wattman anthology of Australian Poetry. She attended North Sydney Girls High School
.
An avid writer throughout her life, Jill Hellyer has been a consistent contributor of poetry and prose to literary magazines such as Southerly
, Overland
, Meanjin
and Heat
. She helped to establish the Australian Society of Authors
and was its foundation secretary from 1963 to 1971. She was subsequently made a life member for her services. In 2006 she was awarded an OAM for that work and her contribution to Australian poetry. She has published three collections of verse and a novel, as well as editing a biography and compiling a collection of satirical epitaphs.
Hellyer raised three children, two of whom had significant disabilities. She now has six grand-children, and three great-grandchildren. She lives in Sydney where she continues to write poetry.
Pines). Others offer poignant portraits of Australian life (O'Regan's Bride, Miss Petty's Sunlight). However, Hellyer's most enduring and engaging work relates to her subjective experiences of love, loss, and intensely felt details of everyday life (Alone, Living with Aunts, Young Girl Awakening, The Exile). Poems including To My Deaf Son, Facing Blindness, and Schizophrenia depict Hellyer's struggles in raising two disabled sons.
Australian Society of Authors
The Australian Society of Authors is the peak body representing Australia's literary creators and is the major advocate for the rights and remuneration of authors in Australia...
. She is the recipient of an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to Australian poetry.
Biography
Jill Hellyer was born in 1925 in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia, to parents Harold and Ruby. Her father died when Jill was a child, followed by her elder brother Allan, who died of a chronic illness in his teenage years. Jill's mother, Ruby, was diagnosed with leukaemia and died when Jill was 12. Jill was sent to live with two unmarried aunts in the Sydney suburb of Seaforth, who raised her until adulthood and inspired several of her better-known poems, including "Living With Aunts", which is included in The Puncher and Wattman anthology of Australian Poetry. She attended North Sydney Girls High School
North Sydney Girls High School
North Sydney Girls High School is an academically selective, public high school for girls, located at Crows Nest, on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
.
An avid writer throughout her life, Jill Hellyer has been a consistent contributor of poetry and prose to literary magazines such as Southerly
Southerly (journal)
Southerly is an Australian literary magazine, established in the 1930s. It is currently published in hardcopy and online three times a year, and carries fiction and poetry by established and new authors as well as reviews and critical essays...
, Overland
Overland (literary journal)
Overland is an Australian literary and cultural journal. It was founded in 1954, under the auspices of the Realist Writers Group in Melbourne, Australia, with Stephen Murray-Smith being the first editor. The current editor is Jeff Sparrow. The journal has a left-wing orientation.- External links :*...
, Meanjin
Meanjin
Meanjin is an Australian literary journal. The name - pronounced Mee-AN-jin - is derived from an Aboriginal word for the land where the city Brisbane is located.It was founded in December 1940, in Brisbane, by Clem Christesen...
and Heat
HEAT (magazine)
HEAT was an international Australian literary magazine published by Giramondo Publishing and the University of Western Sydney.- History :...
. She helped to establish the Australian Society of Authors
Australian Society of Authors
The Australian Society of Authors is the peak body representing Australia's literary creators and is the major advocate for the rights and remuneration of authors in Australia...
and was its foundation secretary from 1963 to 1971. She was subsequently made a life member for her services. In 2006 she was awarded an OAM for that work and her contribution to Australian poetry. She has published three collections of verse and a novel, as well as editing a biography and compiling a collection of satirical epitaphs.
Hellyer raised three children, two of whom had significant disabilities. She now has six grand-children, and three great-grandchildren. She lives in Sydney where she continues to write poetry.
Publications
- The Exile – Selected Verse, Poetry, 1969, Alpha Books.
- Not Enough Savages, Novel, 1975 Alpha Books.
- Song of the Humpback Whales – Selected Verse, 1981, Sisters Publishing Ltd.
- The Listening Place, 2007, Ginninderra Press.
- Tomb It May Concern Ed.
Themes
Hellyer's work is highly influenced by her upbringing and adult life in Australia. Many of her poems centre around Australian history (The Last Song of Edward Kelly, The Ballad of Elinor Magee) or native landscape and wildlife (Song of the Humpback Whales, Dingo, ManlyManly, New South Wales
Manly is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Manly is located 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.-History:Manly was named...
Pines). Others offer poignant portraits of Australian life (O'Regan's Bride, Miss Petty's Sunlight). However, Hellyer's most enduring and engaging work relates to her subjective experiences of love, loss, and intensely felt details of everyday life (Alone, Living with Aunts, Young Girl Awakening, The Exile). Poems including To My Deaf Son, Facing Blindness, and Schizophrenia depict Hellyer's struggles in raising two disabled sons.