Mary Lisle began writing as a child living in the country, where she developed a keen observation and love of nature. She lived at Coonamble (country New South Wales) for twenty-six years after her marriage in 1925 to D. M. Cornish, a farmer. She raised her family there, but was living in Cremorne, Sydney, at the time of publishing her second book of poems,
The Inlander [1966].
John K. Ewers (q.v.), commenting on
The Secret Fire (1947) in
Creative Writing in Australia (1959), wrote that some of her poems were 'as good as many in volumes by better-known poets'. She also wrote short stories and feature articles and experimented with novels and verse drama. Her work was included in overseas anthologies, including in Great Britain and Italy.
