Cirrus@Austlit

Only child of Russian émigrés from quite different backgrounds, who met in Berlin, Michael Sariban migrated to Australia with his parents in 1939, living in migrant camps in the Hunter Valley and then near Brisbane, before moving into Brisbane. He worked in the National Library and later in libraries in Brisbane. Learning the sounds and nuances of another language helped to sow the seeds for his ongoing love affair with poetry in English. He pursued his interests in issues around the translation of poetry and was passionate about music and the visual arts. His lifelong "learning" of the Australian landscape took place from the fluctuating viewpoint of outsider/insider. He published poetry collections which have been published widely in Australia and overseas and his work has been performed on Radio National.