Case StudySearching for information on an Australian poet
I am writing a biography on the Australian poet Edward Harrington. What information is available on him?
We can start by searching likely databases for entries on Harrington e.g. Australian Dictionary of Biography and AustLit
It is always useful to search the Catalogue to see if the Library has any items relating to Harrington. A Catalogue search for "Edward Harrington" shows that we hold a portrait of him, a biographical cuttings file and an oral history recording by him.
It is a good idea to check his published works to see if any biographical information is included in his writings.
We can then search the Trove newspaper database to find articles that mention Harrington.
If Harrington was involved in any organisations, such as a poet's society, searching for the organisation may provide some useful background on his life and activities
Aaron Davis on 28 Nov 13An interesting collection of tips associated with the art of writing from Elmore Leonard. Definitely gets you thinking. 1. Never open a book with weather. 2. Avoid prologues. 3. Never use a verb other than ''said'' to carry dialogue. 4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb ''said'' . . . 5. Keep your exclamation points under control. 6. Never use the words ''suddenly'' or ''all hell broke loose.'' 7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly. 8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters. 9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things. 10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. 11. If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.
