William Hart-Smith

William Hart-Smith (23 November 1911 - 15 April 1990) was a New Zealand/Australian poet who was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. His family moved to New Zealand in 1924. He had about "seven years of formal schooling" in England, Scotland and NZ before getting work at 15. His first job was as a radio mechanic. In 1936, he emigrated to Australia working in commercial radio, and then the Australian Broadcasting Commission. He then did army service, returned to ABC, and resigned spending a year in the Northern Territory, becoming a free lance writer.

Smith was connected with the Jindyworobak Movement, and had some of his work, such as "Columbus goes West" (1943) published by them. However, he spent only a decade in Australia, returning to NZ in 1946. From 1948-1954, he taught in adult education.

He was awarded the ALS Gold Medal in 1960, and won the Patrick White Award in 1987.

Bibligraphy

* "Columbus goes West" (1943, Jindyworobak, Adelaide)
* "Harvest" (1945, Georgian House, Melbourne)
* "The Unceasing Ground" (1946, Sydney, Angus and Robertson)
* "Christopher Columbus" (1948, Christchurch, The Caxton Press)
* "On the Level" (1950, Timaru - self-published)
* "Poems of Discovery" (1959, Sydney, Angus and Robertson)

References

*Allen Curnow - "The Penguin Book of New Zealand Verse"
* Harry P. Heseltine - "The Penguin Book of Australian Verse"

External links

* [http://www.austlit.edu.au/run?ex=ShowAgent&agentId=A2e%7D William Hart-Smith at AusLit]