Furnley Maurice, pseudonym of Frank Wilmot Biography

Australian poet, born in Melbourne. He was on the advisory board of the Commonwealth Literary Fund, and in 1922 he assisted in the foundation of the influential Pioneer Players. Following an anonymous collection, Unconditioned Songs (1913), he produced two collections, To God: From the Warring Nations (1917) and Eyes of Vigilance (1920), in which he decried both war and Australia's alignment with Europe's activities. His poems are exuberant and he engages with colloquial speech patterns to pleasing effect. Further collections include Ways and Means (1920), The Gully and Other Verses (1929), and Odes for a Curse-Speaking Choir! (1933). Romance (1922) presented an early account of an Australian poet's response to new movements in poetry in Europe and America, and in Melbourne Odes (1934) the influence of Modernism became apparent; in the preface Maurice expressed the need for new developments in Australian poetry.