Judith Catherine Rodriguez (13 February 1936 — 22 November 2018) was an Australian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. She was a recipient of the

Christopher Brennan Award The Christopher Brennan Award (formerly known as the Robert Frost Prize after American writer Robert Frost) is an Australian award given for lifetime achievement in poetry. The award, established in 1973, takes the form of a bronze plaque which is ...

Life

Rodriguez was born Judith Catherine Green in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and grew up in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. She was educated at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, and graduated from the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

. She then travelled to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where she received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Following this she took up a tutorship at Kingston University, Jamaica, where she met her first husband,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n academic Fabio Rodriguez. She published numerous volumes of poetry, some illustrated by her own

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

s, edited an anthology and the collected poems of

Jennifer Rankin Jennifer Rankin (born Jennifer Mary Haynes) (28 November 1941 – 8 December 1979) was an Australian poet and playwright. Early life and education Jennifer Mary Haynes was born in Chatswood, New South Wales, on 28 November 1941. She grew up in ...

. From 1979 to 1982, she was poetry editor of the literary journal ''

Meanjin ''Meanjin'' (), formerly ''Meanjin Papers'' and ''Meanjin Quarterly'', is one of Australia's longest-running literary magazines. Established in 1940 in Brisbane, it moved to Melbourne in 1945 and as of 2008 is an editorially independent impri ...

'', and from 1988 to 1997 she was a poetry editor with the publisher

Penguin Australia Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

. The play ''Poor Johanna'', co-written with

Robyn Archer Robyn Archer, AO, CdOAL (born 1948) is an Australian singer, writer, stage director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally. Biography Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australi ...

, was produced in 1994 and her

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

for

Moya Henderson Moya Patricia Henderson (born 2 August 1941 in Quirindi, New South Wales) is an Australian composer. A graduate of the University of Queensland, Henderson was Resident Composer at Opera Australia during their first season at the Sydney Opera ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'' Lindy'', about the

Azaria Chamberlain disappearance Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain (11 June 1980, Mount Isa – 17 August 1980, Uluru) was a nine-week-old Australian baby girl who was killed by a dingo on the night of 17 August 1980 during a family camping trip to Uluru in the Northern Terri ...

, was performed at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

in 2002. She was a recipient of the

and taught at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

(1969–1985). In 1989 she took up a lectureship in writing at Victoria College, which in 1993 became part of Deakin University, where she continued to teach until her retirement in 2003. She was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1994. Rodriguez died on 22 November 2018. She is survived by her four children and their father, and by her second husband, Tom Shapcott, whom she married in 1982.

Works

Poetry *''Four Poets'' (as Judith Green), with others. (Melbourne, Cheshire, 1962) *''Nu-Plastik Fanfare Red''. ( St. Lucia,

University of Queensland Press University of Queensland Press (UQP) is an Australian publishing house based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1948 as a traditional university press, UQP now publishes books for general readers across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's ...

, 1973) *''Broadsheet Number 23''. (Canberra, Open Door Press, 1976) *''Water Life''. (University of Queensland Press, 1976)
review
*''Shadow on Glass''. (Canberra: Open Door Press, 1978) *''Three Poems''. (Melbourne, Old Metropolitan Meat Market, 1979) *''Angels. Melbourne'', (Old Metropolitan Meat Market, 1979) *''Arapede''. (Melbourne, Old Metropolitan Meat Market, 1979) *''Mudcrab at Gambaro's''. (UQP, 1980) *''Witch Heart''. (Melbourne: Sisters, 1982) *''Floridian Poems''. (Winter Park, Florida, Rollins College, 1986) *''New and selected poems: The house by water''. (1988) *''The Cold''. Canberra, National Library of Australia (Pamphlets Poets), 1992 *''The Hanging of Minnie Thwaites''. (Melbourne, Arcade Publications, 2012) *''The Feather Boy & Other Poems'' (Sydney, Puncher and Wattmann, 2018) Plays *''Poor Johanna'' (produced Adelaide, 1994 ). In ''Heroines'', edited by

Dale Spender Dale Spender (22 September 1943 – 21 November 2023) was an Australian feminist scholar, teacher, writer and consultant. In 1983, Dale Spender was co-founder of and editorial advisor to Pandora Press, the first of the feminist imprints devo ...

. Melbourne, Penguin, 1991 *'' Lindy'' (opera libretto). Music by

. Edited *''Mrs Noah and the Minoan Queen''. (Melbourne: Sisters, 1983) *''Poems from the Australian's 20th Anniversary Competition''. With Andrew Taylor, Sydney,

Angus & Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

, 1985 *''Jennifer Rankin: Collected Poems''. (UQP, 1990) *''The Collected Poems of Jennifer Rankin''. St. Lucia, University of Queensland Press. 1990

References

External links

6 poems
at Thylazine

from ''The Hindu''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Judith 1936 births 2018 deaths Australian poets Australian opera librettists Members of the Order of Australia Alumni of the University of Cambridge University of Queensland alumni Academic staff of La Trobe University Australian women poets Australian women dramatists and playwrights Women librettists People educated at Brisbane Girls Grammar School