Ruth Dallas (1919-2008)
Dunedin writer Ruth Dallas was born in Invercargill into a working-class settler family, which informed her writing. She published 20 books, mainly poetry and books for children. Her most recent poetry collection, The Joy of a Ming Vase, appeared in 2006, while her most famous poem, “Milking Before Dawn”, from her first collection, Country Road and Other Poems (1953), has been widely anthologised and studied. Curved Horizon: An Autobiography appeared in 1991, and a short story collection, Black Horse and Other Stories, in 2000.
An appreciation of Ruth Dallas will appear in our next issue.