‘Cathy Perkins’s The Shelf Life of Zora Cross, concerning a forgotten but hugely significant early 20th century bohemian poet from Sydney, is a joyous, thoughtful, and much needed reclamation. Our literary canon is smarter – and far sexier – than you could have imagined.’ Geordie Williamson, The Australian
‘A beguiling narrative … splendidly told.’ Brenda Niall
‘Perkins brings Cross out of the shadows into the light she deserves. Here is yet another free-thinking woman for a new generation to add to the feminist pantheon.’ Caroline Baum
‘This finely written biography fills a significant gap in the history of Australian women writers.’ Peter Kirkpatrick
A new edition of this acclaimed biography of an unsung literary talent, with a foreword by National Biography Award winner Bernadette Brennan
Highly Commended – 2021 National Biography Awards
Shortlisted – 2020 NSW Premier’s History Awards
Australian poet and journalist Zora Cross caused a sensation in 1917 with her book Songs of Love and Life. Here was a young woman who looked like a Sunday school teacher, celebrating sexual passion in a provocative series of sonnets. She was hailed as a genius, and many expected her to endure as a household name alongside Shakespeare and Rossetti. While Cross’s fame didn’t last, she kept writing through financial hardship, personal tragedies and two world wars, producing an impressive body of work. Her verse, prose and correspondence with the likes of Ethel Turner, George Robertson (of Angus & Robertson) and Mary Gilmore place Zora Cross among the key personalities of Australia’s literary world in the early twentieth century. The Shelf Life of Zora Cross reveals the life of a neglected writer and intriguing person
Vanessa Berry reflects on The Shelf Life of Zora Cross
