J. S. Harry, or Jan Harry (4 January 1939 – 20 May 2015), was an Australian poet described as "one of Australian poetry’s keenest
satirists
This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires.
Early satirical authors
*Aeso ...
, political and social commentators, and perhaps its most ethical agent and antagonist."
J. S. Harry was born in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
but soon moved to Sydney, where she remained. She worked as an editor for
Radio National
ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
...
and held a residency at the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
. A recurrent character in her work was Peter Henry Lepus, a rabbit who name-drops philosophers such as
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...
,
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language.
From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...
and
A. J. Ayer
Sir Alfred Jules "Freddie" Ayer ( ; 29 October 1910 – 27 June 1989) was an English philosopher known for his promotion of logical positivism, particularly in his books '' Language, Truth, and Logic'' (1936) and ''The Problem of Knowledge'' (1 ...
while popping up in the midst of topical events such as the
Gulf War
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. His satirical "clear-eyed vision of the world, and the humans that inhabit it, is that of an Everyrabbit, with its endless simplicity, trepidation, and curiosity."
Among other accolades, J. S. Harry won the Harri Jones Memorial Prize for Poetry, the Poetry Society's Book of the Year, the PEN International Lyne Phillips Poetry Prize and the
Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
The Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry is awarded annually as part of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards for a book of collected poems or for a single poem of substantial length published in book form. Her recent works include ''Not Finding Wittgenstein'' (2007) a 'collected works' of Peter Henry Lepus and ''Public Private'' (2013). Posthumous publication of the last adventure of Peter Henry is anticipated (Giramondo Publishing).
Works
Poetry
* ''The Deer Under the Skin'' (1971)
* ''Hold for a Little While, and Turn Gently'' (1979)
* ''A Dandelion for Van Gogh'' (1985)
* ''The Life on the Water and the Life Beneath'' (Sydney: Angus & Robertson/Paperbark, 1995)
* ''Selected Poems'' (Ringwood, Vic.: Penguin, 1995)
* ''Sun Shadow, Moon Shadow'' (Sydney: Vagabond, 2000)
* ''Not Finding Wittgenstein'' (Giramondo, 2007)
* ''Public Private'' (Sydney: Vagabond, 2013)
* ''J.S. Harry: New and Selected Poems'' (Giramondo, 2021)
Australian Book Review
''Australian Book Review'' is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ''ABR'' is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are " ...