Les Murray in conversation with John Dale and Delia Falconer

[slessorpr]

Undoubtedly KS favourite after dinner musical treat was Brecht & Weill's 'Threepenny Opera', a life long love of mine too. Internationally translated, many feel the 3d Opera was the greatest piece of theatre written in the 20th Century, others see it as some form of obscure cabaret jazz. We had the 1933 MGM English translation recording of it & that vinyl near got worn out. I love it, especially Brecht's words which I knew by heart from 12 yrs of age. Some of KS dinner guests hated it. Too bad.

[slessorpr]

I suspect Noela's slow death drained a good deal of KS passion for poetry & wd suggest that losing Noela (after 20 odd years of happy but childless marriage) had seen off his Muse. My mother died in 1976, aged 53, in Sydney & never returned to the NT or Alice Springs.

[slessorpr]

Noela Slessor died of cancer in 1945 & never split from KS despite the brief affair with Hetherington in the Middle East. KS came under fire bcos his wife insisted on following him to Europe & the War, which other wives cd not. No one knew she was dying of cancer except KS. He loved & stayed with her to the end & had his ashes spread on her grave at Rookwood. He never lived in Elizabeth Bay House, only 18A Billyard Avenue. 5 Dogs Lane & Stairs lead up to Macleay St, from there, or used to.

[slessorpr]

It seems LAM is a widely acknowledged authority on the poetry of KS & deservedly so. He must have met the Great Man at least 20 times...sometimes he cd even get a reply from KS that lasted longer than 2 minutes!! Definitely a writer capable of reviewing a real poet who actually rhymes & scans his verse, unlike some who claim to be poets, who can do neither.