all about my father – Conversation & poetry reading with Lucy Dougan & Lisa Collyer

Lucy Dougan & Lisa Collyer in conversation and poetry readings inspired by their Italian paternity experienced at a distance. Lucy Dougan is a widely published prize-winning poet. Her books include White Clay and The Guardians (Giramondo). In 2016 The Guardians won the WA Premier’s Book Award for poetry. With Tim Dolin, she is co-editor of The Collected Poems of Fay Zwicky (UWAP, 2017). With Beverly Taylor, she is working on a new edition of Anne Brontë’s poems for Cambridge UP. Her new poetry collection, Monster Field, is forthcoming with Giramondo in 2022. She is currently the poetry editor for Westerly.

Lisa’s father, Rudolfo (Rudy) was born in Frigento, Italy and migrated with his family to Australia when he was five years old. Her mother and two sisters left their father when she was fifteen and has had no contact with any Italian family members since. Despite, her alienation from her Italian family her appearance invites questions and stereotypes about her ethnicity. This often leaves her confused about her cultural identity.