Finding Aid Index Request Information
Overview | Administrative Information | Container List
Each Finding Aid can be keyword searched using the Ctrl F function on your keyboard.
Finding Aid Index Request Information
Overview | Administrative Information | Container List
Each Finding Aid can be keyword searched using the Ctrl F function on your keyboard.
Manuscript Name | Papers of Margaret Diesendorf |
Manuscript Number | MSS 228 |
Last Updated | June 2022 |
Extent | 11 boxes + 2 oversize + 2 AV boxes |
Location | Special Collections, UNSW Canberra |
Abstract | Original manuscripts, correspondence, poetry drafts and biographical papers relating to Margaret Diesendorf and her literary circle, together with a late 16th century ancestral land tenure manuscript on parchment with wax seal |
Literary
This collection comprises the personal papers of linguist and poet Margaret Diesendorf, covering aspects of her life and career in Austria and Australia, editorship of Poetry Australia, and the many literary connections she maintained with poets nationally and internationally. Highlights include the sequences of correspondence relating to prominent figures such as Howard Sergeant (publisher of Britain's oldest independent poetry magazine Outposts) and Robert Graves (the celebrated British classicist and writer). Also featuring are folders of correspondence with noted Australian poets such as AD Hope, Judith Wright, Gwenn Harwood and Rosemary Dobson. Of special interest is a late 16th century ancestral land tenure manuscript, handwritten in ink on parchment with a wax seal, signed by the historic Swedish sovereigns of Poland
1583-1993
Wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Diesendorf
Margaret Diesendorf née Máté (1912–1993), was an Australian linguist, poet, editor, translator and educationist. Born in Vienna, Austria, Diesendorf migrated to Australia in 1939. She published two books of poetry, made numerous translations of other people's works, and with Grace Perry, edited Poetry Australia
References:
Judith Beveridge, 'Diesendorf, Margaret (1912–1993)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/diesendorf-margaret-29670/text36654, published online 2020, accessed online 15 April 2020
AustLit, Margaret Diesendorf (www.austlit.edu.au), St Lucia: The University of Queensland, 2002- , accessed online 15 April 2020
Access: Open Access
This collection contains a variety of copyright material. Copyright is held by the creator of each item. Specific conditions for this collection are listed below. If no conditions are stipulated then the standard terms of the Copyright Act apply for published and unpublished items. Digitised material from manuscript collections is provided to clients by UNSW Canberra in good faith for private study and research only, and may not be published or re-purposed without the express and written permission of the individual legal holder of that copyright. Refer also to the UNSW copyright, disclaimer and takedown policy.
Copying: Copying of material for private study and research is approved
Papers of Margaret Diesendorf, Special Collections, UNSW Canberra, Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, MSS 228, Box [Number], Folder [Number]
The collection was acquired from Margaret Diesendorf in two consignments in 1991
Further material relating to Margaret Diesendorf (including extensive correspondence) is located in the papers of Rudi Krausman (MSS 094), Vivian Smith (MSS 041) and in the records of Poetry Australia (MSS 015) and The Oxford companion to Australian literature (MSS 011)
This collection originally included a number of publications, listed below. These works have been catalogued separately and added to the UNSW Canberra Academy Library collection.
Agence de L’Union Protestante Liberale. Le Nouveau Testament. Paris, 1862 (no longer held in Library)
Amanuddin, Syed. Gems & germs, with English, French and Urdu translation by Peter Ford and Mukhtar A. Chaudhry. Sumter, South Carolina: Poetry Eastwest Publications, [1978]
Amanuddin, Syed. The age of female eunuchs. Sumter, South Carolina: Poetry Eastwest, c1974
Baylebridge, William. Love redeemed. Popular edition. Sydney, NSW: Tallabila Press, 1934
Cumpston, Amy. Human, my race. Bexley, [NSW]: Pacific Press, 1955
Haley, Martin. Lucretia and the banks of Anio: an anthology of Italian poems in English
Brisbane : Printed by V.E. Martin, 1965
Haley, Martin. Trophies: taken mostly from the French of Jose Maria de Heredia. Brisbane: [s.n.], 1972
Hiener, Wilhelm. South Africa: a cycle of thirty poems. Newnham, Tasmania: The Wattle Grove Press, 1966
Klein, Johannes. Geschichte der deutschen Novelle: von Goethe bis zur Gegenwart. Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1954
Laurent, Jacques. Mauriac sous de Gaulle. [Paris]: La table ronde, c1964
Lyrisches Holland . Lyrical poetry = La Hollande lyrique. Amsterdam: Arbeiderspers, 1954
Perry, Grace. I am the songs you sing and other poems. Sydney: Consolidated Press, 1944
Présentation-Société royale du Canada, No [1], 1943-1944. Ottawa: Société royale du Canada, 1944
Scott. L.E. Nothing but a man. Wellington, NZ: Voice Press, 1981
‘Two cities’, La revue bilingue de Paris, 1964 (no longer held in Library)
Margaret Diesendorf 1912-1993 – Archives
Robert Graves 1895-1985 – Correspondence
Herbert (Howard) Sergeant 1914–1987 – Correspondence
Australian poetry – 20th century
Margaret Diesendorf 1912-1993
Rosemary Dobson 1920-2012
Robert Graves 1895-1985
Gwen Harwood 1920-1995
Alec Derwent Hope 1907-2000
Herbert (Howard) Sergeant 1914-1987
Poetry Australia
Poets
Linguists
Translators
Editors
Educators
Folder 1
Ancestral manuscripts of feudal tenure with Royal seals, concerning house, lands and people, signed by the historic sovereigns of Poland (Swedish House) – original documents in contemporary hands on parchment with wax seal and ribbon, dated 1583 and 1636, with 1867 amendment stamped ‘Instanz Gericht Goldingenschen’=Instance Court of Goldingen? Add digitised content to Cloudstor & insert link; make note to check originals for more exact details when time available in future
Folder 2
Correspondence from various poets regarding Diesendorf’s anthology Light, c1981
Folder 3-4
Correspondence with Syed Amanuddin, Sumter, South Carolina (editor of Poetry Eastwest and Creative moment) – Diesendorf was Associate Editor of Creative moment for the Pacific region
Folder 5
Correspondence with Australian scholar, literary critic and poet RG (Robert Guy) Howarth
View Clubs of Australia Poetry Competition 1974 – judge’s comments and correspondence with competitors
Transcripts and English translations of taped interviews with leading French writers for ABC Radio program Today’s Writing, 1965-1966, some transcribed on airmail paper when Diesendorf continued the work from Paris, London and Vienna
Folder 6
Correspondence (14 letters) with British poet and classicist Robert Graves, 1968-1973 and three poems
Correspondence with Australian poet AD Hope
Folder 7
Correspondence with Australian poet Gwen Harwood, 1971-1987
Folder 8
Correspondence with AD Hope
’Faust’ – original complete draft, Part 2, last scene, handwritten about 1933
Correspondence from Swiss primary school children taught by Diesendorf in 1939 (in Swiss-German)
Folder 9
Paper written for Department of French, University of Vienna (in French), c1936 (66 pp)
Folder 10
Correspondence regarding The electrical imagination compiled by Dr Brian Coleman, with whom Diesendorf collaborated by letter
Coleman, Brian (compiler). The electrical Imagination: electricity in literature and music. Vancouver: B. Coleman, 1975
Folder 11
New poetry from Australia, edited by Diesendorf and Syed Amanuddin – drafts submitted to Diesendorf by six Australian poets and associated correspondence
New poetry from Australia, edited by Diesendorf and Syed Amanuddin – draft introduction
Folder 12
Correspondence with Earle Birney (1904-1995), distinguished Canadian poet and novelist
Folder 13-14
Correspondence with Edwin Tanner (1920-1980), Australian artist and his son Edwin after his father’s death
Folder 15
Correspondence with Edwin Tanner (1920-1980), Australian artist and his son Edwin after his father’s death
Folder 16
Newspaper cuttings from correspondence by Diesendorf published in the Sydney Morning Herald
Folder 17
Education and literature manuscripts and related correspondence
South Head Press editorial correspondence
Folder 18
Poetry Australia correspondence
Folder 19
Correspondence regarding Rosemary Dobson’s L’Enfant Au Cacatoès (Child with a Cockatoo). Paris, 1967
Folder 20
Correspondence with La recherche (Paris)
VIEW Clubs of Australia – correspondence with Diesendorf as judge of poetry competition
Four carbon copies of manuscript
Folder 21
Press clippings
Folder 22
‘Le silences’ by John Millett – draft, c1973
Folder 23
Notes on translation
Publicity for Australian poetry in Germany
French paper – draft, 1944
Newspapers cuttings - correspondence to newspapers and publicity on literary activities
Diaries, including birth of first child, European journey, 1960
Folder 24
Book of foreign language poetry
Press clippings
’Translation’ talk – draft, probably written for an Italian seminar held in Melbourne, 1968
Press clippings of poems printed in Education: journal of the NSW Public School Teachers Federation
Draft paper in French
Folder 25
Press clipping
Education: journal of the NSW Public School Teachers Federation – drafts (some first) and related correspondence:
‘The role of the P&C movement in the integration of the migrant into the community’.
‘Education in Europe’.
The English Association Annual Dinner, 1957 (Union Recorder), monitor broadcast
‘Personalities past and present’
‘Comprehensive secondary education’
‘Statement of the Wyndham Committee’
‘The comprehensive school’
‘NSW Parent and Ex-students Association – selective high schools’ (Diesendorf was a foundation member)
Comprehensive secondary education – talk
‘The myth of the Wyndham Report’ (paper) – various statements by Diesendorf
‘Selectivity and the Wyndham Report’ – short paper
‘The common core’ –- talk
‘The children growing up’ - talk at Orange cinema
‘The role of the P&C movement in the integration of the migrant into the community’ – carbon copy
Folder 26
Notes for an address
Correspondence with Robert Graves and La Recherche (Paris)
Folder 27
Correspondence relating to Rosemary Dobson’s L’enfant au cacatoe. Paris, 1967
Folder 28
Original cover design for PAN. 44, 1972
Drafts – ‘Two lessons in Viennese cooking’, ‘A democratic case against state aid’
Drafts – ‘Witness: biographical short story’ of Diesendorf
New Poetry from Australia material
Draft – ‘L’enfantau cacatoes’ by Rosemary Dobson
Folder 29
Thank you correspondence
Folder 30
Correspondence with Mariano Coreno regarding Vento al sole
’Con le mani aperte al sole’ – draft
Miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 31
3 audio cassettes, including 'John to us in NY, USA'
Folder 32
Correspondence from Rina Lasnier including some of Diesendorf’s replies
Correspondence relating to ‘Sonnets de l’ingeneur’
Correspondence relating to Poetry magazine,4/5
Folder 33
Correspondence with Louis Dautheul regarding a novel in the form of love letters
Folder 34
Correspondence mainly in French
Folder 35
Correspondence with Grace Perry regarding poems discussed over the phone
Folder 36
Two articles - ‘Water fluoridation’ and ‘Statement on consumer standards regarding water’
Berrima Winter by Grace Perry – draft
Correspondence with AD Hope, Geoffrey Dutton, DJ Enright
Folder 37
Transcript of a recording by Trudy Swift
Correspondence from notable poets
Folder 38-40
Correspondence with British poet and literary editor Howard Sergeant, 1975-1983
Folder 41-45
Correspondence with Howard Sergeant, 1975-1983
Folder 46
Correspondence with Monsieur Victor Barbeau, President de l’Academie Canadienne-Francaise, regarding Cahiers de l’Academie Canadienne-Francaise 13 et 14 with dedication
La face et l’envers: essais critiques by Victor Barbeau, with dedication and letter
Libre examen de la democratie by Victor Barbeau, 1960 with dedication
L’Academie Canadienne-Francaise by Victor Barbeau.
Handwritten manuscript by C.F. Meyer ‘Novellen. Personlichkeitsgehalt’, Seminar, Unterstufe, Margarete Máté,1932/3, University of Vienna
Correspondence with American poet Herbert Woodward Martin
Folder 47
The electrical imagination: electricity in literature and music compiled by Brian Coleman, 2nd enlarged edition with additional unpublished Australian material provided by Diesendorf
Folder 48
Correspondence regarding Borestone Mountain Poetry Awards
’Modern German Poetry’ lecture delivered by Diesendorf at the University of Sydney (in Poetry Australia series) – draft
’Education abroad: school reform in Germany’ by Diesendorf – draft (unpublished due to Wyndham Report controversy)
Folder 49
Script of interview with Diesendorf by Rudi Krausmann
Booklets in German prepared for the Commonwealth Office of Education for the instruction and information of migrants on various aspects Australian citizenship, including the ‘Census’, ‘Learning English’, ‘Citizenship’
Folder 50
Correspondence with Martin Haley (1905–1980), poet, essayist, translator, teacher
Folder 51
Correspondence with Poetry Australia
Folder 52
Photocopied manuscripts of ‘Poems of Grace Perry’, with German translations by Diesendorf
Folder 53
Manuscripts and correspondence concerning Creative moment poetry journal
Folder 54
Creative moment – draft, proof stage of Diesendorf special issue
Folder 55
Photocopy manuscript of Diesendorf’s article ‘Aboriginal Poets Writing in English: Kath Walker, Jack Davis, Kevin Gilbert’ for Creative moment, Spring 1973
Creative moment, Spring, 1973, II, I
’A Lume Spento’ (obituary for Ezra Pound, Poetry Australia) for the Poetry Australia notice board – carbon copies
French version of welcome to CIGRE (Conference Internationale des Grands Reseaux Electriques), Melbourne, 1973
Festival of Sydney 1979 papers including invitation to participate (Adrian Rawlins) and publicity material
Correspondence from Margaret Trist (1914-1986), Australian writer
Folder 56
Poems collected by Diesendorf for shortlisting after consideration by Robert Graves, for a planned anthology of ‘New Australian Poets’ co-edited by both writers
Folder 57
Correspondence with Yasmine Gooneratne, Australian-based writer and academic, and noted Sri Lankan poet
Creative moment – issue featuring Gooneratne’s work
Folder 58
Two unpublished addresses - ‘A reply to what is new on the poetry scene’, ‘What ethnic writers can, and could, do in the field of translation.’
Australia Council writing grant assessment – Raphael Pomain
Australia Council writing grant assessment – Jutta Sieverding
Miscellaneous business correspondence
Folder 59
View Clubs Australia – judge’s report, 1974
Folder 60-64
Papers relating to ‘Correspondence: a novel in the form of love letters’
Folder 65
Miscellaneous newspaper clippings
Correspondence from Norman Talbot, James Dickey, Alan Rees (son of artist Lloyd Rees), Barry Breen and Margaret Denat
Folder 66
Typescript draft – ‘The Nine Lives of Big Meg O’Shannessy: poems’ by John Millett
Correspondence with Marguerite Schluter, Limes Verlag publishing house
Correspondence with Jean-Guy Pilon, editor of Liberte-Montreal, concerning the Canadian issue of Poetry Australia and Liberte-Montreal 52, with copies of the French versions of the poems submitted with the article
Folder 67
Three unpublished reviews, c1966-1967 for Poetry Australia – typescript carbon copies
Correspondence from Rosemary Dobson, 1961-1975
Correspondence with Barbara Giles, 1976-1982
Folder 68
Miscellaneous correspondence.
Correspondence from Louis Dautheuil, 1964-1985
Folder 69
Correspondence with Southern review, 1977
Correspondence regarding water fluoridation
Correspondence with Howard Sergeant, 1983-1986
Folder 70
Published and unpublished manuscripts
Poetry Australia correspondence
Folder 71
Review of The rebirth of Austria by Richard Hiscocks, 1957
Translation of the ‘Charter of the Swiss Confederacy: 1291’
Translation from the French by Diesendorf of paper by Guinean poet Djibril Tamsir Niane for PEN international bulletin
Folder 72
Correspondence with West Australian poet Joyce Parkes
Folder 73
Correspondence with West Australian poet Joyce Parkes
Folder 74-76
Correspondence from Rupert Oliviera, Parts 1-3
Folder 77
Correspondence from Australian poet Judith Wright
Folder 78
Typescript draft – ‘The Body the Altar’, selected and translated by Diesendorf
Folder 79
’Traduttore: traditore?’ – typescript draft outline of autobiography
’King Orben’s autobiography’ handwritten draft by Thor Diesendorf
Assessments of Jacques Delarvelle and Jutta Sieverding
Copy of Rudi Krausmann interview with Margaret Diesendorf
Folder 80-81
Miscellaneous correspondence relating to writing and publishing, Parts 1-2
Folder 82
Miscellaneous correspondence relating to writing and publishing, Part 3
Folder 83
Correspondence, documents and notes relating to Joseph Nadler
Copies of manuscripts published and unpublished work
Newspaper clippings
Folder 84
‘Alexi’ and ‘Sound in poetry’ – articles on school reform
Folder 85
Correspondence with poet Frederick Parmee
Crayon self-portrait (aged 16)
Photograph of Diesendorf, 1933
’Sonnet’ worksheets
Folder 86
Correspondence with Lloyd Rees, Lolo Honbein and Jocelyn Ott-Saeed
Folder 87
Poems dedicated to Diesendorf
Australian book review, Adelaide Festival of Arts, 1968
’This Bitter Earth’ by LE Scott
Folder 88
‘Die Dichtungssprache des Expressionisms’, Margaretha Máté, PhD thesis
Folio 1
Galley proofs:
Poetry Australia, No. 1, December. 1964, plus printed issue
E&S poetry frozen section
Poetry Australia, No. 27
Poetry magazine, No. 1, 1964, plus printed issue
E&S poetry, No. 22 [no date]
E&S poetry, No. 45, 1972
Folio 2
Record, 33 1/3rpm – Nexus & Earle Birney III
Florilège collection – French poetry including Laforgue, Rictus, Jammes, Apollinaire, Jacob, Carco, Cadon
See also Box 5/Folder 31 for three additional audiocassettes
AV Box 1
AV 1.1
Audio cassette – Dinner at the Feintuch home in Paris (Feintuch was one of the directors of Électricité de France)
AV 1.2
Audio cassette – Matron talks with us: lunch at Trelawney Street home (‘Matron’ was the former matron at Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School (SCEGGS), Moss Vale, where Diesendorf was French and German mistress)
AV 1.3
Audio cassette – Diesendorf singing
AV 1.4
Audio cassette – Halloween, USA, fall in Vermont: recording made whilst guest at the home of a fascinating young Australian mother of four (whose husband was a scientist)
AV 1.5
Audio cassette – Reminiscences: Diesendorf’s arrival in Australia, 1939, first impressions
AV 1.6
Audio cassette – Trudy Swift remembers...with her husband, Dean, contributing (a descendant of the creator of Gulliver’s travels, Jonathan Swift: recording of reminiscences of Diesendorf’s school friend and fellow Australian immigrant Swift
AV 1.7
Audio cassette – Life at Rensselear whilst Diesendorf’s husband was Visiting Professor at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York
AV 1.8
Audio cassette – Syed Amanuddin reading his poems
AV 1.9
Audio cassette – Diesendorf reading (for tape and unprepared) poems from Rosemary Dobson’s L’Enfant au Cacatoes, to mail to her now blind collaborator and friend, Louis Dautheuil (partly erased)
AV 1.10
Audio cassette – Diesendorf reading a selection of her own poems
AV 1.11
Audio cassette – Recording of Diesendorf’s son John providing information on his parents to the Academy Library, UNSW Canberra
AV Box 2
Check with Curator