Enid Derham | |
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| Born | (1882-03-24)24 March 1882 |
| Died | 13 November 1941(1941-11-13) (aged 59) |
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Enid Derham (24 March 1882 – 13 November 1941) was an Australian poet and academic. She was a founding member of theLyceum Club, and was president in 1918. She lectured in English at theUniversity of Western Australia, and then took position of senior lecturer in English at theUniversity of Melbourne.
Derham was born inHawthorn,Melbourne,Victoria, the eldest daughter of Thomas Plumley Derham, solicitor, and his wife Ellen Hyde, née Hodgson, of Melbourne.[1] Derham was educated at Hessle College, Camberwell, then atPresbyterian Ladies' College and theUniversity of Melbourne. She graduated M.A. with first class final honours in classics in 1903, was awarded the Shakespeare scholarship in 1904 and subsequently studied atOxford University.[2]
In 1912 she publishedThe Mountain Road and Other Verses, andEmpire: A Morality Play for Children. She also edited books of prose, poetry and drama.[1] In a review forThe Herald,Archibald Strong compared her work favourably with that ofLouis Esson,Dorothea Mackellar andChristopher Brennan. He wrote of the "true and original singing quality and its scholarly and critical finish" as being rare in Australian poetry and noted that her poem "Cras Nobis" was "easily the best Australian contribution" to theAustralasian Students' Song Book, published in 1911 byGeorge Robertson.[3][4]
While her poetry was influenced by her classical studies, she was one of the earliest Australian writers to recognise the poetry ofEmily Dickinson.[5]
In 1912 Derham was one of the founding members of the Lyceum Club[6] and its president in 1918.[2]
Derham lectured in English at theUniversity of Western Australia in 1921 and was appointed senior lecturer in English at the University of Melbourne in 1922, and held this position for the rest of her life.[1]
On 13 November 1941, Derham died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage at her home inKew, Victoria.[1]
Melbourne University Press released a posthumous anthology of her best work calledPoems in 1958 which re-established her reputation as a poet.[7]
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