Library Talk: Poet Charles Harpur and his Circle
Get your dose of poetry at the Hawkesbury Central Library, and listen to insights about the first important poet of Colonial Australia, Charles Harpur, and the context of his life and his time on Wednesday, 3 July 2024.
Editors Paul Eggert and Chris Vening of the book “The Letters of Charles Harpur and His Circle” will give attendees a chance to learn more about the poet, his time, and his works.
Born in 1813 in Windsor, NSW, he is generally regarded as the ‘first major native-born Australian poet.’
According to The Charles Harpur Critical Archive, he is the son of a schoolmaster-father, himself an ex-convict, and may have had access to Reverend Samuel Marsden’s private library.
He went on to Sydney, securing a job as a letter-sorter. Soon, he became a postal clerk while also contributing poems to Sydney newspapers.
Harpur is known for his poems with Australian themes and landscapes, reflected in his works such as ‘Memory’s Genesis’, ‘Noon in the Forest at Midsummer, and The ‘Creek of the Four Graves’.
The event is free of charge, but bookings are essential via Eventbrite: Author Talk—The Life and Time of Poet Charles Harpur. The one-hour event will run from 6:30 to 7:30 PM.
The Hawkesbury Central Library is located at 300 George Street, Windsor.
