American poet Paul Kane to bring art show based on his work to Bendigo

It was the well-known ballad The Highwayman by English poet Alfred Noyes.

"I was so transported by the experience I wanted to know more about poetry," Kane said.

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Kane's love of reading and curiosity inspired more and more research and eventually a career for the American author and teacher.

As well as compiling and writing a series of books on poetry, he served as Professor of English at Vassar College in New York State for 32 years, only retiring from the position at the end of last year.

The 73-year-old is the holder of several awards and titles, the most recently bestowed being an Order of Australia for services to the country's literature.

It was during a recent visit to Victoria where he attended an investiture ceremony at Government House in Melbourne to receive his AM from the Governor of Victoria Linda Dessau.

Kane said it was still a mystery as to who nominated him for the honour.

"I had no inkling until I received a letter from the embassy in Washington telling me 'we are thinking of presenting this award to you'," Kane said.

"'Would you accept it if we offered it to you?'

"Somebody or a group of people went to some length to nominate me and there really is a lot of suspects.

"It's really nice. We don't have things like this in the States. I'm overwhelmed people see fit to do that and offer it to me," Kane said.

While in Victoria, the American poet visited Bendigo to formulate plans for a show at the art gallery based on his book of verse essays entitled Earth, Air, Water, Fire.

The show will be called Essays on Earth and be produced by local artists Brodie Ellis and John Wolseley. It will feature original art work and a video installation of images projected on the wall relating to the themes of the natural elements from Kane's book.

"It will be my recorded voice reading passages from the book with art on two walls so it should look pretty amazing," Kane said.

Essays on Earth will be unveiled at the Bendigo Art Gallery in September and Kane is hoping to return in December to close the show's run with a live performance of his recital.

Kane's connection with Australian literature began when he met his now late wife Tina.

"Tina was American but she grew up in Melbourne between the ages of 7 and 17," Kane said.

"When we got together I had to meet her brother and mother so I came out to Melbourne in 1979."

His interest in literature and poetry saw him frequent bookshops in Melbourne and it was there he discovered Australian verse writing.

"I was entranced and impressed," Kane said.

In 1984, Kane received a Fulbright award to the University of Melbourne to write a study of Australian poetry, much to his delight.

"From then on I launched into it," he said. "I love digging into things."

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Kane became a founding member of an organisation in the United States championing Australian literature and wrote several more books on the subject.

He even became a close friend of internationally renowned poet Les Murray and the Australian often stayed with Kane when visiting the United States.

Kane's connections in Australia led him to joining the Bendigo Historical Society and he found himself on the organisation's board.

He described his time on the society's board as "terrific" and "a real learning experience".

"I love Bendigo and its historical collections," he said.

"It was a window on not just Bendigo but what local history is really like."

He loved the region so much he even built a house between Clunes and Talbot on an old volcano, starting construction in 2004 and finishing in 2007.

"I built it myself because I used to be a carpenter - and friends helped as well," Kane said.

"It's a sturdy little house I chained down so it wouldn't be blown away. It's a bit of a writers' retreat.

"It's a beautiful piece of land with stunning views around central Victoria.

"I have friends in Maryborough, Ballarat and Castlemaine and it was right smack in the middle."

Among his poet friends were Peter Porter and Gwen Harwood.

"And a poet I especially like is Phillip Hodgins from near Maryborough, who died young," Kane said.

The American has also been involved with the Mildura Writers Festival for 25 years.

So what is the big attraction with Australia literature?

"I knew nothing about it and it was such a revelation," Kane said.

"The literature and visual arts in Australia is really high quality. There's a lot there to examine and appreciate."

Kane traced Australian literature back to the timing of while settlement and explored the necessities of development of the nation's modern literature.

"Australia had to catch up to the rest of the world a bit," Kane said.

"By the mid 20^th century Australian literature had established itself and no longer had to look to England and the US.

"Self-nourishing I called it."

So what makes a good piece of literature in Kane's eyes?

"I like the work to be able to transfer the writer's experience," he said.

"I'm not interested in reading about another person's experience unless something of that experience gets conveyed to the reader, and then it comes alive."

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Kane said he loved teaching at Vassar.

"It's a small college of 2600 students so you could form real relationships with the students," he said.

"It's good because it means each student thinks you're there just for them, which is the school's ethos."

Now retired, Kane will still remain heavily involved in the world of literature.

"I have a lot of friends who have published books the last three years but because of COVID I'm only now reading and catching up on them," he said.

"People like Alex Miller, a novelist from Castlemaine, and Don Watson. Also, I've got projects and collaborations I'm working on.

"I like to work with visual arts and music and photography."

Hence the Essays on Earth show at the Bendigo Art Gallery later this year which will keep Kane's love affair with Australian literature and the region alive for the foreseeable future.

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