30 Jun Vale Brian Matthews (1936 – 2022)
ASAL notes the passing of scholar and teacher of Australian literature, and President of ASAL from 1987-1988, Brian Matthews. Born in St Kilda in 1936, Matthews went on to teach at Flinders University, University of Exeter, the University of Oregon and several European universities. He went on to become Chair of the Literature Board of the Australia Council and Head of the Menzies Centre for Australian Literature, and in 1997 he became the Foundation Director of the Europe-Australia Institute at Victoria University, Melbourne. He is best known for his scholarship on Henry and Louisa Lawson including The Receding Wave (1972) and Louisa (1987).