Margaret Packham Hargrave (born Margaret Ruth Packham, 1941) is an Australian poet and writer. She is the author of two novels, ''Jake's Luck'' (1994) and ''A Woman of Air'' (1996), winner of the inaugural Elle/Random House Fiction Prize. Her early career was as a nursing academic and then as a secondary English teacher.

Life and career

Margaret Packham Hargrave was born as Margaret Ruth Packham on 8 November 1941 and grew up in the Sydney suburb of Auburn, Beverly Hills, and Jannali. For secondary education she attended Sutherland High School and Moor-field Girls High School,

Kogarah Kogarah () is a suburb of Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres (9 miles) south-west of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George, New South ...

. Her tertiary studies were at

New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, where she studied voice with Raymond Beatty and

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with Georgiana Maclean, and concurrently at Sydney Hospital, where she studied nursing from January 1960 to December 1963. Subsequently, she completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English and Psychology, and Master of Letters in

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

at the University of New England and a Diploma of Education at

Mitchell College Mitchell College is a private college in New London, Connecticut. In Fall 2020 it had an enrollment of 572 students and a faculty of 68. Admission rate was 70%. The college offers associate and bachelor's degrees in fourteen subjects. Academ ...

. She had an early career as a nurse from March 1964 to June 1967, including as a lecturer in Nursing Studies, publishing a research paper, "Literature in the Nursing Course", in ''The Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing'' (1985). From July 1978 to December 1984, she worked as a poultry farmer near Dubbo and was a freelance journalist for the local newspaper, ''

Daily Liberal The ''Daily Liberal'' is a daily newspaper produced in the city of Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. The news stories published relate particularly to the city of Dubbo and the surrounding district. The newspaper was first printed in 1875. Th ...

''. She then became a teacher of secondary English from February 1987 to August 2006 before committing herself to writing. Since August 1974, Hargrave has also worked as a freelance writer and has had short stories and poems published in various magazines or newspapers: '' Westerly'', ''

Meanjin ''Meanjin'' (), formerly ''Meanjin Papers'' and ''Meanjin Quarterly'', is an Australian literary magazine. The name is derived from the Turrbal word for the spike of land where the city of Brisbane is located. It was founded in 1940 in Brisbane ...

'', ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', ''

Cleo Cleo may refer to: Entertainment * ''Cleo'' (magazine), an Australian magazine established in 1972, now active in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand * Cleo (group), a South Korean girl group formed in 1999 * ''Cleo'' (play), by Lawren ...

'', ''Grass Roots'' and ''Matilda''. A book of her poems, ''Midnight Fugue'', was published in 1983. She developed an interest in screenwriting and her first short film, ''A Difficult Patient –'' based on her book, ''A Woman of Air'' – was produced and directed by Tony Chu of NAFA Productions and was exhibited at the Cannes Short Film Corner in 2009. Original music for the film was composed by Nathan Chan. In September 2008, she was elected to Sutherland Shire Council as one of the team of Shire Watch Independents. She left the council in September 2012.

Bibliography

Short stories

* "The Sound of Crying", ''

'', August, 1974 * "The Chiffionier", '' Westerly'' (4), 1988 * "Domestica", ''Westerly'' (1), 1989 * "Small Fame", ''Westerly''(4), 1989 *

Poetry

* Anthologised in: ''Poets' Choice'', 1977; ''Holes in the Evening'' (1982), Fat Possum Press; and ''That Moon-Filled Urge'' (1985), Kardoorair Press. *

Novels

* ''Jake's Luck'' (1994) Allen & Unwin * – Recipient of Elle/Random House Fiction Prize.

Articles

* "New Horizons: Literary Studies in the Nursing Course", ''The Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing'', Vol. 3 No. 1 (1985), cited in Begley, Ann-Marie, 'Literature and Poetry: Pleasure and Practice', ''International Journal of Nursing Practice'' (2), December, 1996 * "A Tale of Two Lives", ''

Family Circle ''Family Circle'' was an American magazine that covered such topics as homemaking, recipes, and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a group of sev ...

'', June 2004 (writing as Inez Frazer)

References

External links

*http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt1482970/ *http://pro.imdb.com/name/nm2838920/maindetails {{DEFAULTSORT:Hargrave, Margaret Packham 1941 births 20th-century Australian novelists Australian poets Australian women short story writers Australian women novelists Australian women poets Living people Writers from Sydney Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni 20th-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian short story writers