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For ten years she was chair of the Becher Foundation, which supported indigenous programs, refugees and asylum seekers, women in the developing world, Jewish community projects, and rural and regional communities.
A few years ago she suffered a stroke, which impaired her ability to speak, write and spell. She has fought the disability, determined to keep writing. Rupture is her first book since then.
Susan is a keen collector of Aboriginal art, loves 1930s china and, of course, reading. She and her partner Anne spent much of the year in the NSW Southern Highlands and some months in sunny Brunswick Heads. She has recently brought out a new book, which will mix both poetry and prose. In December 2021 her beloved partner Anne died after contracting an incurable sarcoma.
©Susan Varga 2023
contact: info@susanvargawriter.com
Rupture
University of WA Publishing, 2016
Short-listed for the Anne Elder Award for first book of poetry
‘Help me, words –
you always have.’
The directness and simplicity of these poems, beautifully arranged as stages in a recovery, carry the urgency, honesty and celebration of a life reclaimed.
Joan London
The poems that comprise Rupture are lucid, deft, unapologetic, forthright. There are images and lines that are literally breath-taking, stanzas that punch with wisdom, and whole poems that linger long after the book is finished.
Andrea Goldsmith
Reviews
‘For her first poetry book . . . she delivers a punchy, raw and profound collection. Varga’s recovery from a severe stroke, the “Rupture” of the title, is searing in its honesty, and bold and brave in its execution. Her passion for life and her celebration in reclaiming her life makes this book a real gem.’
Judges’ comments, Anne Elder Award
‘Characterized by [a] conspicuously individual voice… [it] speaks with persuasive truthfulness of difficult personal circumstances, allowing the reader wide spaces in which to travel, move, and think.’
Paul Hetherington, Australian Book Review Best Books of 2016
Varga’s poetry depends on close observation and simple statement . . . She restricts herself to carefully chosen details that are intended to resonate and suggest the poet’s changing moods.’
Geoff Page, The Australian
‘A rewarding, brave and insightful collection of poems.’
Craig Billingham, Westerly
‘A warm, generous and intelligent read . . .This is a collection about resilience, but it also shows that in the end words did not desert her, and that poetry is as much her domain as prose.’
Whispering Gums (Literary Blog)
Rupture is available in most good book shops