Suzanne Edgar (born 13 October 1939) is an Australian poet, short story writer and historian.

Life

Suzanne Edgar was born Glenelg, South Australia on 13 October 1939. She was educated at Adelaide Teachers' College and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, graduating with a BA (hons). She met Peter Edgar in first year at university and they married in 1961. After moving to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Edgar was employed by the

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

as their South Australian research editor. While working there from 1969 to 1998, she contributed 55 biographies of people, ranging from a male premier to a female bus driver. At the same time, Edgar worked part-time at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

, lecturing in literature. She also wrote book and film reviews. Edgar was a member of the "Canberra Seven" or "Canberra Seven Writers" along with

Marion Halligan Marion Mildred Halligan AM (born 1940) is an Australian writer and novelist. She was born and educated in Newcastle, New South Wales, and worked as a school teacher and journalist before publishing her first short stories. Halligan has served a ...

Dorothy Johnston Dorothy Johnston (born 1948) is an Australian author of both crime and literary fiction. She has published novels, short stories and essays. Born in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, Johnston trained as a teacher at the University of Melbourne and ...

, Margaret Barbalet, Sara Dowse,

Marian Eldridge Marian Favel Clair Eldridge (1 February 1936 – 14 February 1997) was an Australian short story writer and book reviewer. Biography Marian Favel Clair Stockfeld was born in Melbourne, Victoria on 1 February 1936. She grew up on her parents' ...

and Dorothy Horsfield. They met regularly to critique each other's writing. In 1988 four of her short stories were included in ''Canberra Tales: Stories'', published in 1988 by the group. Edgar published her first book, ''Counting Backwards and Other Stories'', in 1991. It was shortlisted for the Steele Rudd Award in 1992. Since then she has written four books of poetry and contributed poetry and stories to literary journals such as '' Quadrant''.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgar, Suzanne 1939 births 20th-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian women writers Australian women poets University of Adelaide alumni Living people