Norman Talbot—A Tribute

Dr Norman Talbot supervised my doctoral work at the University of Newcastle, completed in the 1980s.

Norman died suddenly in Newcastle, NSW, on 8 January 2004. He was 67. He had been one of the most important intellectual influences in my life, as well as a dear friend. He also supervised the doctoral work of one of my other closest friends: writer, editor, and critic Janeen Webb.

Norman Talbot was born in 1936 in Suffolk, England, and came to Australia in 1963 to teach English at the University of Newcastle; he retired in 1993 with the rank of Associate Professor. He was a prominent Australian poet, a wonderful scholar, a great friend to the community of science fiction and fantasy writers (and the author of several stories of his own), and a truly kind and generous man. The most recent of his many awards was the Broadway Poetry Prize at the 2002 Australian Poetry Festival.

I am deeply grateful for Norman's unfailing generosity to me, especially but not solely when I was starting out as a young scholar and writer. The only "payment" for which he ever asked was that something of the same generosity be passed on to others--which I have tried to do, however inadequately. My heart goes out to his wife, Jean Talbot, and their family. Norman lived life with a passion and gusto that will be missed by many people, in many contexts, in many, many ways.

Russell Blackford

April 2004

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