1. Jessie Mackay was a New Zealand poet, journalist, feminist and animal rights activist.
17 Facts About Jessie Mackay
1. 2.
Jessie Mackay is often referred to as New Zealand's first local-born poet and was one of the earliest writers to have a distinctly New Zealand style.
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Jessie Mackay was homeschooled until she was 14 and went to Christchurch to train as a teacher, and taught at small rural schools from 1887 until 1898.
4.
Jessie Mackay moved to Dunedin in 1898, and worked as a journalist for the Otago Witness for four years.
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Jessie Mackay's poems had feminist themes and references to Maori myths and customs.
6.
In 1902, Jessie Mackay moved to Christchurch where she lived with her sister Georgina.
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Jessie Mackay was forced in 1904 to abandon her teaching career due to illness.
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Jessie Mackay's poetry was published in a number of New Zealand newspapers.
9.
In late 1921 Jessie Mackay travelled to Europe, and in January 1922 she attended the Irish Race Convention in Paris on behalf of the New Zealand Society for Self-Determination for Ireland.
10.
Jessie Mackay was an advocate of home rule for both Scotland and Ireland.
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Jessie Mackay was praised for having built a literary tradition in New Zealand, and for her "reforming zeal, which has expressed itself in a life-long allegiance to many causes".
12.
Jessie Mackay's papers are held by the National Library of New Zealand.
13.
Jessie Mackay's poetry was included in a number of notable anthologies during her lifetime and in a 1956 anthology, but was omitted from the Penguin Book of New Zealand Verse edited by Allen Curnow.
14.
Jessie Mackay actively campaigned for women's rights, animal rights, and national liberation movements, particularly through her journalism.
15.
Jessie Mackay took part in the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand in the late 19th century, including through collecting signatures for petitions, and supported causes such as the need for women in Parliament, better pay for women and women in the police force.
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Jessie Mackay was a member of the National Council of Women of New Zealand and was instrumental in its 1918 revival.
17.
Jessie Mackay stopped eating meat in the early 20th century because of her compassion for animals.