Review of Poet of the Colours: The Life of John Shaw Neilson by John H. Phillips

Abstract

I approached the latest Neilson biography: Poet of the Colours, by John H. Phillips, with both hope and trepidation. Hope faded as I scanned the Select Bibliography: Phillips appears to have used no primary sources, but has based his study on the two biographies mentioned above, and the published version of the Autobiography. For the poetry he has relied upon the Chisholm edition and Devaney's Unpublished Poems of Shaw Neilson (1947), and I suspect he had more than a passing look at Witnesses of Spring.

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Published 1 October 1989 in Volume 14 No. 2. Subjects: Biographical writing, John Shaw Neilson.

Cite as: Hanna, Cliff. ‘Review of Poet of the Colours: The Life of John Shaw Neilson by John H. Phillips.’ Australian Literary Studies, vol. 14, no. 2, 1989, doi: 10.20314/als.c98fa7baf6.