Laurence Henry Collinson
(September 7, 1925 - November 10, 1986) Australia - U.K.
Writer and artist
Jewish, communist, homosexual, poet, playwright and printer - any one of these wase enough to raise eyebrows in 1950s Australia. To be all of them, as Collinson was, seems just perverse.
Laurence Collinson was born in Leeds, England. His family emigrated to Brisbane, Australia in1930 and he was educated at primary and secondary schools in Melbourne, Sydney, Dalby and Brisbane. Collinson completed a secondary teaching diploma at Merrer House, Melbourne and from 1955-61 he taught mathematics and English at Melbourne secondary schools.
For many years he was a member of the editoral board for the Australian magazine Overland, and in the 1940s he founded Barjai, a literary magazine for youth. In his later life Collinson became interested in transactional analysis therapy and worked as a counsellor.
It was during the post-war years that he found himself drawn to communism, and to men. In 1961-64 Collinson worked as the editor of a teachers' journal, The Educational Magazine.
In 1964 he returned to London to pursue a career in freelance writing. He considered himself as much a playwright as a poet. His stories and poems have been included in many journals and anthologies, and his plays for stage, television and radio have been produced both in Australian and England.
The arrival of the gay rights movement in 1970 captured his radical imagination and he participated enthusiastically, writing journalism and polemic, especially in Quorum, a gay magazine.
Collinson died in London from liver disease.
Collinson's publications include:
Poetry:
- Poet's dozen (1953)
- The moods of love (1957)
- Who is wheeling grandma? (1967)
- Hovering Narcissus (1977)
Plays:
- No sugar for George (1949)
- The Zelda trio (1961)
- Friday night at the Schrammers (1962)
- A Slice of birthday cake (1965)
- Thinking straight (1975)
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TV plays:
- Uneasy paradise (1963)
- The audition (1964)
- The moods of love (1964)
- Number thirty approximately (1968)
- Loving Israel (1968)
- The girl from upstairs (1971)
Radio plays:
- A slice of birthday cake (1963)
- The slob on Friday (1969)
Novel:
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