AustLit

The Melbourne Literary Club was founded in June 1916. Its object was the study of literature and the encouragement of Australian writers who were unable to find a place for their poetry in mainstream magazines. To this end, the little magazine Birth was inaugurated in December 1916.

Acting as the official organ of the Melbourne Literary Club, Birth printed the poetry of club members and other writers. Never rising above an eight-page publication, the magazine allowed little space for contributions and offered no payment. Nevertheless, a long list of writers contributed poems and reviews during the six years of the magazine's existence. The most prolific contributors were R. A. Broinowski, Bernard O'Dowd, Henry Tate, Louis Lavater, Frederick Macartney and Furnley Maurice. Other contributors included Mary Gilmore, Hugh McCrae, Mary Fullerton, Dorothea MacKellar and Vance and Nettie Palmer. In later issues, the magazine printed reviews of new books (often books written by members), details of the club's meetings and activities, and Frederick Macartney's series of essays called 'The Beginnings of Australian Poetry'.

The first issues were edited by William Mitchell and Gilbert Wallace. Bernard O'Dowd began his three-year term as editor in June 1917. O'Dowd was replaced in 1920 by Frederick Macartney, and Frank Wilmot (Furnley Maurice) edited the magazine in its final twelve months with the assistance of Louis Lavater. Throughout this period Wilmot printed the magazine free of charge on the small press he operated from his home.

When the Australian Institute of the Arts and Literature was formed in 1922 many Melbourne Literary Club members left for the newer organisation. Birth was subsequently published under the auspices of the Institute, but the magazine was unable to continue through these changes. The editors announced in November 1922 that the issue of Birth for that month would be the last.

Between 1916 and 1927, the little magazines Birth and Spinner provided opportunities for writers to publish poems not accepted by mainstream periodicals. The poems collected in these magazines was not avant garde, but the literary character they collectively exhibited offered an alternative to the more nationalistic tone of larger magazines. Both magazines ceased production for practical and financial reasons, but a number of Melbourne writers remained committed to maintaining a place for poets to see their work in print.

By the late 1920s, without Spinner, there were few publishing opportunities for poets outside of the small number who achieved regular publication in the large newspapers and periodicals. In September 1929, the composer and writer Louis Lavater revived Spinner under a new title: Verse.

Printed on Frank Wilmot's home-based press, Verse appeared in the same format as Birth which was also set by Wilmot. These physical similarities are strengthened by the appearance of familiar contributors, providing a degree of unity throughout the separate lives of the three magazines. The work of Louis Lavater, Frederick Macartney, Frank Wilmot, Mary Gilmore and Mary Fullerton appears in all three publications and almost sixty writers who appear in Spinner also appear in Verse. In addition to poetry, contributions of prose were also accepted. Titles such as 'Prose, Poetry and Verse', The Translation of Anglo-Sazon Verse', 'Philosophy in Poetry', and 'Concerning Free Verse' indicate the type of articles Lavater accepted for publication.

Sold by subscription and in bookstores like Coles Library and the Olde Book Shop, Verse achieved a limited circulation, but its growth was hindered by the deepening economic depression. In a message to subscribers and contributors on the last page of the twenty-fourth number, Lavater expressed his desire to pay contributors to strengthen his 'editorial position'. But unable to achieve this goal, Lavater announced the closure of Verse, hoping to revive the magazine in the future.