The community is invited to celebrate the life of literary legend Dorothy Hewett - Australian playwright, poet, author, activist and romantic feminist icon.
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In her lifetime Hewett had 22 plays performed, nine collections of poetry published, three novels and many other prose works. Her work and life were often controversial.
In 1991 Hewett moved to Faulconbridge with her husband, poet and folk balladist, Merv Lilley, spending the last decade of her life living in their colonial-era Cobb and Co staging post on the Great Western Highway.
She died in Springwood Hospital on August 25, 2002, and was laid to rest in Springwood cemetery, not far from the grave of her simpatico, artist Norman Lindsay.
On Sunday May 21, 2023 a commemorative literary event to mark the centenary of Hewett's birth has been arranged by her sons, writers and musicians, Joe Flood, from Wentworth Falls and Tom Flood, from Blackheath, with Wentworth Falls writer and producer, Marilla North.
There will be a small ceremony at 2pm at Hewett's graveside in Springwood cemetery at 40 Davesta Road with a short address by Susan Templeman, Federal Member for Macquarie and Special Envoy for the Arts.
This will be followed by a performance of poetry and music with high tea, from 3pm to 5pm, compered by much-loved local actor, Shane Porteous, at the nearby Springwood Country Club at 84 Hawkesbury Road.
"Dorothy and Merv's legendary ballads and folk songs will be performed by acclaimed folk duo, Margaret and Bob Fagan, who've recorded many of their works. Tom Flood of the Blues Angels, myself of the Old Folkies, and Dorothy's grandson, Matthew Flood (fresh from a cameo role at the Sydney Opera House), will also be performing," said co-producer, Joe Flood.
In Hewett's decade at Faulconbridge, although suffering from breast cancer and crippled by osteoarthritis, the poet produced two prize-winning books of verse, two poetry manuscripts, a collection of short stories, two new novels and two new plays and, despite her lack of mobility, she became a cherished mentor for local and visiting writers at both Varuna and her home.
Hewett's last book of poetry, Halfway up the Mountain, lyrically expresses her love of Country, and especially of this mountain landscape, within the wistful contemplation of her own journey.
The international Feminist Companion to Literature in English (Yale University) states: "Dorothy Hewett is the first Australian woman playwright to have won widespread recognition and production of her plays. Her early plays are often strongly feminist ... showing woman questing for self-fulfilment. She was a trail-blazer in gender politics".
"Tickets to the event are $35 (concessions available) which we hope will cover some of the costs of the event," Ms North said.
"We are also re-issuing a third edition of What About the People? (1961), the first stand-alone book of the songs and poetry by Hewett and Lilley."
A dozen or so of these poems, progressively published and set to music, helped to springboard the 1960s folk revival in Australian popular culture.
Ms North said the reissuing of the book and the event itself would make May 21st in Springwood "an historic day in Oz Lit".
The book will be available at a discount at the event. It can also be purchased at the Dorothy Hewett Centenary donations website, which contains more information.
Tickets are also available by calling Marilla North on 0414 695 980, or emailing vadmar1@outlook.com. Later this year more events and publications are scheduled.
