Delinquent Angel: Poet Shelton Lea

Delinquent Angel: Poet Shelton Lea is a fascinating audio interview with Diana Georgeff, the biographer of Melbourne poet Shelton Lea, who died of lung cancer on May 13, 2005, aged 59.

I saw Shelton Lea at the 'Poets in the Pub' at the Harris Park Hotel about 15 years ago. His was the most charismatic poetry performance I have ever heard and seen; 'mesmerizing' is hardly too strong a word. He read, inter alia, a poem whose title is, I think, 'The Woman in the Peach Melba Hat', or very similar. I was so deeply impressed that I bought a copy of his book of the same title, but today can't find it. I would very much like to read that poem at the monthly poetry night I attend in Bellingen. If anyone can email me a copy, I would be very grateful indeed.

Lea had an unusual life, from a Toorak mansion to living on the streets at the age of 12, and then reformatories and prison, and I recommend the audio for anyone interested in poets and poetry.

Categories: poetry, australia