As a teacher, and a writer-in-residence, Rory Harris has taught in schools, colleges, universities and prisons. He has done much to encourage young people's writing and appreciation of poetry, and has edited anthologies of poetry written by children he has taught. With Peter McFarlane he co-wrote and edited a series of poetry textbooks on teaching poetry for the Australian Association for the Teaching of English. He also worked as a gardener, greenkeeper, clerk, cook, technical assistant (forestry), fruit grower, bookseller, actor and professional poet. In 1990 Harris was a primary school headmaster in the Solomon Islands. During his stay he wrote radio plays which were translated into Solomon Island Pijin and broadcast on National Radio Solomon Islands.
