The September issue of ABR had just gone to the printer when we learned of the deaths of two very different stalwarts of Australia writing: Dorothy Hewett and John Iremonger. Numerous obituaries have now appeared in newspapers, and fittingly boisterous wakes have taken place in New South Wales and Victoria. Suffice to say, at this juncture, that both Hewett and Iremonger were enduring presences in the pages of ABR: the former as a leading poet, novelist, dramatist, memoirist and sometime essayist; the latter in his capacity as a publisher with Hale & Iremonger, Melbourne University Press and Allen & Unwin. Iremonger’s diverse list of authors included Gough Whitlam, Stuart Macintyre, David Marr and John Hirst. It is hard to think of an Australian non-fiction publisher who has produced a list of such depth and distinction. John Iremonger’s publications, like Dorothy Hewett’s creative writing (including her autobiography, Wild Card, and thirteen plays), will inform and entertain readers for generations to come.

Early this month (4–7 October), the ACT Writers’ Centre will present the Spring Poetry Festival. The venue is the Ainslie Arts Centre in Braddon. Rosemary Dobson will give a reading at 7 p.m. on Friday, 4 October. The following day, at 3 p.m., Bruce Dawe and Geoff Page will be in conversation. An hour later, several poets will debate whether their ancient art is better than sex. Further information is available from Anne-Maree Britton at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or on (02) 6262 9191.

Bruno Lettieri is the energetic organiser and host of Rotunda, a series of literary gatherings that combine readings, conversation and epicurean pleasures. On Wednesday, 9 October, at 7 p.m., Arnold Zable will discuss his writings; there will also be some Greek music. This will be followed, on 16 November, by the day-long Rotunda Festival of Story and Song. Guests will include Martin Flanagan, Ramona Koval and Sherryl Clark. Rotunda takes place at the Sunbury campus of Victoria University. Full information is available on (03) 9218 3202, or from the website at: www.staff.vu.edu.au/rotunda.

M.T.C. Cronin has published numerous poetry collections and chapbooks in the past few years, including My Lover’s Back: 79 Love Poems, which Lisa Gorton reviews in this issue. On Saturday, 2 November, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Cronin will lead a poetry seminar and workshop titled ‘A Sudden Enlargement of the World’. Full details are available from the New South Wales Writers’ Centre, on (02) 9555 9757.

Devotees of Barry Humphries and of his first volume of memoirs, More Please, can relax: next month, Viking will publish his second volume, My Life As Me. On 24 November, Humphries will be signing copies – lots of copies – at Readings, Carlton.

We have two more ABR Forums to announce: the first very soon, at the Comedy Club. On Wednesday, 2 October, the subject will be Jan Bassett’s posthumous memoir, The Facing Island (which Joy Hooton reviews in this issue). Just before her death in 1999, Dr Bassett, a Melbourne historian then in her forties, completed this meditation on war, family, and her personal and intellectual journey. Historians Peter McPhee and Janette Bomford will join Peter Rose, Editor of ABR, in a discussion about Jan Bassett’s life and oeuvre. This will be followed by the launch of The Facing Island. ABR is co-hosting this event with MUP and Readings, Carlton. There is no charge.

The place of dissent – its vulnerable paramountcy, we had almost said – in contemporary Australia will be the subject of the following ABR Forum. This will take place at fortyfivedownstairs at 6.30 p.m. on Monday, 25 November. The Editor will be joined by speakers including Morag Fraser and Julian Burnside. Readings in Carlton is handling bookings for ABR and the Mietta Foundation. Further details of this Forum will appear in the November issue.