Events

2018 Events

Great article from the National Women's Library about my lunch hour talk from November

Below is an extract. To read the whole article and the rest of the newsletter, click on the Library logo below.

Yarn Spinners

The joy of the Library’s Lunch Hour Talks is their scope. Marilla North’s book, Yarn Spinners, portrays the friendship between Dymphna Cusack, Miles Franklin and Florence James, and the intersection of their writing lives and social activism. All three are beacons of Australian literature and while it would have been a pleasure to hear about these writers, Marilla spoke instead of the role of Jessie Street in Dymphna’s life, as a friend and mentor . . . read on 

Check out the February issue of the Jesse Street National Women's Library in its entirety by clicking on the logo below

The Blue Mountains launch of Dymphna Cusack: Lucky in love

Saturday 10th February from 3.00pm

At the Alexandra Hotel Leura

“YARN SPINNERS” SCHEDULE OF EVENTS – 2017

 Biographer Marilla North will be available for book signings from mid-February 2017

To book Marilla for signings or other events contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• EVENTS STILL BEING POSTED … Check again soon
  
  
  PAST EVENTS
  
  NOVEMBER 4:  12.00 Noon at 99 on York, Sydney - FAW Annual Awards & Christmas Luncheon
  
  Marilla North reading Dymphna Cusack’s evocative 1941 love poem to Xavier Herbert “Eagles” from her new Chapbook “Dymphna Cusask: Lucky in Love.” at the 2017  FAW Xmas Luncheon at ‘99 on York’s’ Red Room on Saturday 4 November 2017. A great lunch enjoyed with wonderful bibliophiles and writers. True Fellowship was shared!!
  
  
  

  SEPTEMBER 21 ‒ 12.30 -1.30 pm:  Metcalfe Theatre, SLNSW, Macquarie Street entrance
  in Celebration of the 115th Birthday of bestselling author DYMPHNA CUSACK with the launch of A chapbook
  “The Love Poems of Dymphna Cusack”
  &
  “We’ve Been So Lucky, Fella!”
  … an imagined memoir
  
  
  Above images:
  NSW State Library Launch MC Susanne Gervay OAM with artist Garry Shead who painted Dymphna Cusack's portrait for Marilla's  Come in Dymphna series
  Rose and Garry Shead with publisher Veronica Sumegi of B&S
  Vera Deacon writer and heritage activist from Newcastle and Robert G Jones from Leura
  
  RUNNING ORDER

  12.30   MC Susanne Gervay OAM:
  Welcome and APOLOGIES
  Jayne Andersen
  The Hon Cath Cusack MLC – Dymphna’s great- great-niece
  Rima D’Arcy – Jessie Street National Library
  Malcolm Bailey – retired civil engineer, reformer and Newcastle U3A Short story  writer
  Jan Dean – Newcastle poet and FAW Branch Member
  Linda Forbes – United Association of Women & Convenor of the Hunter Peace group
  Sue Grant
  Maudie Green - Weatherboard Theatre
  John & Helen Hockney
  Claire Jones – Weatherboard Theatre
  Trevar Langlands – NSW President of the Fellowship of Australian  Writers
  Jenn Martin  - Double Bay Library
  Mary Moody – ABC
  Dr Paul Sharrad – University  of Wollongong
  Dr Elizabeth Webby - Sydney University
  Claire Williams
  SPECIAL WELCOME TO  -
  Andras Berkas - Artisan Book Maker & Designer  of “Lucky in Love”
  Vera Deacon –  Heritage activist,  Writer &  former National  Secretary of the Realist Writers
  John Grant – Dymphna’s nephew
  Nerida Grant – Dymphna’s great-niece
  Lesley McKay
  Garry Shead – Archibald & Dobell Prize winner 
  & Rose Shead
  Veronica Sumegi 
  Welcome to this celebration of the extraordinary journey of the love poems of Dymphna Cusack. It is also the extraordinary journey of Marilla North who is one of the great detectives of literature.  Her passion for the works and life of  Dymphna Cusack has led her on a 40 year journey of discovery. Marilla North is a literary powerhouse for Dymphna, exploring archives, seeking information and lost documents from so many sources and unexpected places.
  Marilla North the girl from Newcastle who gained Honours in English in the Leaving Certificate where she first read  Dymphna Cusack’s WWII novel Southern Steel, has become the woman of letters herself completing her MA (Hons) with a dissertation on the Cusack–James’ collaboration, the best seller Come in Spinner.  Her life work has and continues to be Dymphna, working on her biographical trilogy on the life and times of Dymphna Cusack. The first edition of Yarn Spinners: A Story in Letters ‒ Dymphna Cusack, Miles Franklin and Florence James (UQP 2001), has been followed by  ‘Yarn Spinners’ published by Brandl and Schlesinger. It’s a totally fascinating read of the letters of Dymphna Cusack, Florence James and Miles Franklin, feisty, amazing literary women who changed the landscape of women today. The research and scholarship underpins the immensely moving, entertaining and important work.
  Today we go on the second part of Marilla’s great journey, with the publication of  Dymphna Cusack “Lucky in Love’ which includes the lost love poems written by Dymphna. Let’s welcome Marilla to the stage share the story of the love poems of Dymphna Cusack.
  Marilla North – story of the love poems – 10 minutes
  Launch Speech by Susanne – 15 minutes
  The State Library of NSW is the right place to launch Marilla North’s ‘Dymphna Cusack – Lucky in Love.’  The home of the Society of Women Writers established in 1925 by Florence Baverstock pioneer woman journalist for The Bulletin. Members included some of the most important women writers in Australia. Dorothea MacKellar, Dame Mary Gilmore, Elizabeth Stead and of course, Dymphna Cusack. The Mitchell Room in the State Library was also where Marilla’s play ‘We’ve Been So Lucky Fella!’, a tribute Dymphna’s for her 100th birthday celebrations was first performed.  The play is included in this book.
  
  “Lucky in Love’ is such a unique book, in this perfectly bound edition with its biographical overview of Dymphna, Dymphna’s lost poetry, Marilla’s play and the extraordinarily revealing archival black and white photographs. The multi layered portrait painted especially for this book by the Archibald and Dobell Prize winning artist Gary Shead has captured Dymphna.  Her enquiring blue eyes make you look at her. The bush background gives strength to the delicate woman holding flowers. She invites you into her mind which is one that leaves you questioning and thinking.
  “Lucky in Love’ is called a chapbook. I hadn’t heard of chapbooks which emerged in the 16th century as ‘small books’, easily accessible for the everyman (or woman) and especially the working class. Chapbooks are curious productions, making reading assessible, providing entertainment and news. But chapbooks were treated as very dangerous by the political and religious authorities because they distributed new ideas - Tom Paine's second edition of The Rights of Man 1791, came out as a sixpenny chapbook and eventually sold 2m copies. A fear of enlightenment atheist philosophies led to the inception of religious chapbooks, nicknamed "godlinesses" and "Sunday schools". Dymphna’s ideas were dangerous at a time when women were fighting for rights. Dymphna would have liked Marilla’s ‘chapbook’.
  Dymphna was such a ‘diminutive ‘white flame of a girl’ who wrote extraordinary ‘meaty stuff’ that Norman Freehill, financial journalist and chief-of-staff of the Communist Party of Australia’s newspaper, the Tribune  offered to mentor her work. Dymphna suffered for what she called her `dog’s disease’ of multiple sclerosis; by December 1980 she was completely paralysed. But she lived her life with passion and truly changed the literary and social landscape.
  Marilla writes that this chapbook is a ‘precious’ collaboration’. With who? Dymphna of course. Truly as I read it, Marilla and Dymphna felt like soul mates.
  Dymphna’s books and plays are controverserial as they tackle  gambling, nuclear weapons, social equity, illegitimacy, divorce laws, prostitution, sexual freedom. There are no constraints.  The newly discovered poems reveal her great love affairs with ‒
  the flamboyant charismatic author, Xavier Herbert, later the 1975 Miles Franklin Award winner with Poor Fellow my Country, and
  Norman Freehill, the propagandist for the Communist Party of Australia and leading financial journalist for the capitalist Packer Press: a gentleman double-agent.
  These affairs at the time were totally controversial. Xavier Herbert was in a relationship with Sadie Cohen who he later married, when Dymphna they had their turbulent love affair. Dymphna and Norman Freehill married, late in life after Norman became a widower. She was a totally independent woman and made choices about her relationships and how she would live her life.
  The balance of biography, photographs some of which are quite ‘shocking’ , Marilla’s commentary and Dymphna’s poems is innovative, instructive, passionate and ultimately entertaining.
  Page 27 – read out – so intimate, satisfying our curiosity and giving insight into the poetry and Dymphna.
  The play ‘ We’ve Been So Lucky Fella! Which is integral to this chapbook, first performed here at The State Library, is in itself so extraordinary. The MC was Mrs Margaret Whitlam, who was active in the Society of Women’s Writers as an author herself. As a former president of the SWW, I know how important books were to Margaret. After Gough Whitlam's election as Prime Minister, she became an outspoken advocate for issues including women's rights, abortion law reform and conservation and was an extraordinary supporter of the literature and the arts. 
  I feel honoured to be the MC at this launch of Marilla’s book. I know Margaret would have been here today.  The cast of Marilla’s play included the wonderful award winning actor Penne Hackforth-Jones who played Dymphna and the ironic actor Barry Otto who played Norman Freehill. 
  The play gives a wonderful insight into the relationship between Dymphna and Norman. Dymphna was certainly feisty and Norman was the gentleman with ‘a touch of innocence in his almost unworldly faith in Marxism.’ (page 61)
  Read Page 65  for their great love story.
  This is a book that will delight, engage, tempt you to dip in and out of it and I am proud to launch it today.
  Congratulations Marilla.
  1.05    Welcoming Marilla  North to read two of Dymphna’s poems “I Am Rapt into A New World” &    “To An Accountant”
  1.10    Specially thanks Garry Shead  for his Portrait of Dymphna
  1.12    John Grant Industrial Advocate and Climate Change Activist has appeared in the Federal Court, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, the Anti-Discrimination Commission of NSW, the Industrial Relations Court NSW, the Industrial Relations Commission of Australia and the NSW Conciliation Commission., the Workers’ Compensation Commission, NSW, the Industrial Magistrate’s Court NSW and the Magistrate’s Court NSW. He’s been the Industrial Officer from Australian Worker’s Union, Australian Journalist Union, Australian Government Lawyer’s Association to  NSW Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dymphna would be so proud.
   1.15 Introduces Nerida Grant. Dymphna’s great-niece Nerida Grant is a Registered Nurse and does the late night shifts on the streets of Kings Cross. Dymphna would approve. She is an accomplished musician and has set some of her great-aunt Dymphna Cusack’s Love Poems to music … May I present … Nerida Grant.” Nerida performs Dymphna Cusack’s poems “Epitaph for One Who Died Young” and “Oh Heart You Are Dry” and her own ballad “Boggabri”.
      
  1.30 Susanne Gervay: Thanks SLNSW and The SATURDAY Paper

  
  
  
  SEPTEMBER  13 ‒ 10.30 am, The Leura Literary Discussion Group
  Leura Uniting Church, corner of Grose and Megalong Streets, Leura.
  “Yarn Spinners” by Marilla North: Author talk and group discussion.
  
  
  Wentworth Falls: Weatherboard Theatre Green Room
  Reading Rehearsal of the play "Anniversary" and related pieces from the MS:
  "War's Tragic Waste - A Quartet in Four Genres by Dymphna Cusack."
  July 22
  
  
  WOOLLAHRA LIBRARY
  In Conversation: Jayne Anderson with Marilla North
  10:30am Friday 30 June
  
  

• SYDNEY FEMINIST HISTORY GROUP Guest Speaker: Marilla North
  6pm Thursday 29 June
  University of Technology and Science (UTS), Broadway
  
  
  LUNCHEON in SYDNEY at THE WOMENS’ CLUB
  Marilla North “In Conversation” with Mary Moody
  12.00 noon, Thursday 29 June
  
  
  Review from Virginia Gordon, Sydney Women’s Club
  Yarn Spinners is the first volume in Marilla North’s biographical trilogy “Come in Dymphna” which reanimates the life and times of Australian writer Dymphna Cusack for a contemporary audience.
  Inspired by the letters exchanged between Dymphna Cusack, Florence James, Miles Franklin, and their contemporaries, North has woven together the threads of history that shaped these women’s lives and brought alive the struggles they encountered as they fought for human rights and social justice … and forged a path for Australian women writers in a male-dominated world.
  First and foremost, however, “Yarn Spinners” expresses the ‘heart and soul’ of the powerful friendships that grew between these strong, passionate and witty women as they corresponded, collaborated and supported one another.
  Together and individually they produced an extraordinary body of work that tackled issues central to the creation of a civilised and humane society. Their stories are becoming increasingly more relevant as we face the challenges of the 21st Century.
  We are pleased to have a copy of “Yarn Spinners” in our Rose Scott Library and thank the author Marilla North for her generous donation of her book, following her recent visit to speak at the Club.
  Love the cover image of Dymphna Cusack and Florence James using Delphy the Dictaphone!
  ©    Virginia Gordon
  
  
  SYDNEY WRITER'S FESTIVAL with VARUNA
  Monday 29 May
  
  
  BLUE MOUNTAINS FELLOWSHIP of AUSTRALIAN WRITERS

  Marilla North talking about “Yarn Spinners” with a PowerPoint presentation, Q&A.

  2.00 – 4.00pm, Sunday 7 May

  Uniting Care Apts, 133 Macquarie Street, Springwood

   

  NEWCASTLE WRITERS FESTIVAL 
  Marilla North in Conversation with Dr Ann Hardy
  11.00am -12.00pm, Friday 7 April
  Mulubinba Room, Newcastle Town Hall
        
  
  BLACKHEATH LAUNCH of “YARN SPINNERS”
  The New Ivanhoe Hotel
  Sunday 26th February, 3.00 - 5.00 pm
  MC: Victoria Jefferys
  Welcome: Trish Doyle MP
  Q & A Marilla North with Mary Moody
    
  
  GLEEBOOKS, LAUNCH of “YARN SPINNERS”
  Gleebooks , Glebe Point Road Glebe
  Thursday 23 February,   6.30 – 8 .00pm
  MC and Chair of Q & A Panel: Dr Larry Buttrose
  PANEL: Dr Paul Sharrad; Pat O’Shane; Susanne Gervay; Marilla North
  
     
  LEURA LAUNCH of “YARN SPINNERS”
  The Alexandra Hotel
  Saturday 4th March, 2.30 – 5.00 pm
  MC: Dale Turner
  Welcome: Susanne Templemann MP
  Dramatised Reading “Lasting Words”
  Adapted from “Yarn Spinners”
  CAST:
  Dymphna Cusack – Claire Jones
  Miles Franklin – Julie Herbert
  Florence James – Mary Moody
  Narrator - Marilla North also
      channelling Mabel F Knox