AustLit

'This article focuses on the life of Katie Anna Lush (1887-1935), a figure who exists primarily in the historical narrative as the friend, lover and muse of the Australian poet Lesbia Harford. What began first as an exploration of the women's relationship, grew into a larger biography of Lush. A philosophy tutor for the University of Melbourne, an anti-conscriptionist and belonging to a circle of prominent Australian socialists of the 1910s and 1920s, Katie Lush provides valuable insight into unmarried white women's political and academic careers in the early twentieth century. As the subject of several romantic poems written by Lesbia Harford, this article will additionally consider the relationship's queer potential. This is the first extensive study of Katie Lush's life and draws upon former research regarding Lesbia Harford in addition to new detail accessed from the Lush family collection.' (Publication abstract)