Sylvia Lawson (12 November 1932 – 6 November 2017) was a journalist, academic and author, known for her support for cinema in Australia through her work with the

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

from its inception in 1954. She wrote ''The Archibald Paradox'', a study of '' The Bulletin'' and its founder, J. F. Archibald.

Early life and education

Lawson was the great-granddaughter of journalist and publisher,

Louisa Lawson Louisa Lawson (née Albury) (17 February 1848 – 12 August 1920) was an Australian poet, writer, publisher, suffragist, and feminist. She was the mother of the poet and author Henry Lawson. Early life Louisa Albury was born on 17 February 1 ...

. Born in Summer Hill on 12 November 1932, she was the eldest of six daughters. She grew up in semi-rural Ingleburn. After attending Homebush Intermediate School, she completed her secondary education at Fort Street Girls’ High School. Lawson then studied arts at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. While at university she began her lifelong involvement in film, joining the Sydney University Film Group.

Career

On graduation, Lawson was accepted as a cadet journalist by ''

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 ...

'', but was frustrated that women were forced to work only on women’s issues. In 1955 Lawson married and had to leave that job. She found employment at the ''Daily Mirror'', but that paper similarly frustrated her ambitions. In 1958 Lawson began to contribute to Tom Fitzgerald's fortnightly publication, ''

Nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

'' as film critic and writing on cinema generally. She was involved with the Sydney Film Festival from its beginning in 1954, joined the committee and co-curated the 1959 program with Robert Connell. Lawson developed a film course at the University of Sydney, but in 1976 moved to

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian s ...

in Brisbane to lecture in cinema and media studies. During her time there, she wrote ''The Archibald Paradox'', published by

Allen Lane Sir Allen Lane (born Allen Lane Williams; 21 September 1902 – 7 July 1970) was a British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fictio ...

. She moved back to Sydney in 1986 and began to write full-time, contributing to journals in Australia and overseas.

Awards and recognition

For ''The Archibald Paradox'', she was awarded the 1983

Fellowship of Australian Writers The Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) was established in Sydney in 1928, with the aim of bringing writers together and promoting their interests. The organisation played a key role in the establishment of the Australian Society of Authors in ...

' Wilke Award, the Walter McRae Russell Award at the 1984 ASAL Awards and the Non-Fiction award at the 1984

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

. In 2000 Lawson was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

Bibliography

*''Mary Gilmore'', Oxford University Press, Melbourne, Vic, 1966, *''The Archibald Paradox: A strange case of authorship'', Allen Lane, Ringwood, Vic, 1983, *''How Simone de Beauvoir died in Australia : stories and essays'', (Brissenden collection) University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, NSW, 2002, *''The Outside Story'', (Brissenden collection) Hardie Grant Books, South Yarra, Vic, 2003, *''Demanding the Impossible : Seven essays on resistance'', Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Vic, 2012, *''The Back of Beyond'', NSW Currency Press & Canberra National Film & Sound Archive, Sydney, NSW, 2013,

Personal

Lawson died in

Carlton, Victoria Carlton is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 3 km north of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of Vic ...

on 6 November 2017. She is survived by her children, grandchildren and her sisters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Sylvia 1932 births 2017 deaths Australian film critics Australian women film critics Australian women journalists Australian women academics University of Sydney alumni Griffith University faculty People educated at Fort Street High School The Sydney Morning Herald people