Literature Matters: The Greatest Australian Poet Who Never Was
A public talk by Department of English faculty member Peter Robinson
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Grace-Westminster United Church Social Hall, 505-10th St. E., Saskatoon
Free and open to the public
About this event
In 1944, the Australian literary magazine Angry Penguins published a special number “to Commemorate the Australian Poet Ern Malley.” Inside, readers found 17 poems by a completely unknown poet, Ernest (“Ern”) Lalor Malley, and an introduction by the editor of Angry Penguins, Max Harris. Harris's introduction tells the brief story of Ern’s unhappy life: he worked as a garage mechanic and insurance salesman and died of Graves disease aged just 25, his poetry unknown. Yet Harris declared him a “great poet,” “one of the most outstanding poets we have produced here.” What a story! Australia’s own John Keats! And then it all went wrong.
Literature Matters: Literature in the Community is a free public lecture series sponsored by the University of Saskatchewan Department of English.
Info: 306-966-1268 | english.department@usask.ca
Upcoming Events
kîwêtotêtân kayâs nêhiyawêwin itwêwina: The importance of going back to old Cree words
Apr 9, 2026
The next Linguistics Seminar Series features guest speakers Maria Mazzoli, Dorothy Thunder and Randy Morin
From Kindergarten to College: The Impact of Education Policies over the Lifecycle
Apr 10, 2026
This Economics Speaker Series event features guest speaker Dr. Angela Zheng, McMaster University