Eileen Mary Duggan (1894-1972) was the first New Zealand poet to gain an international reputation. In the 1930s and early 1940s she was quite widely regarded as the pre-eminent New Zealand poet, with some of her poems published in Britain, the United States and Australia as well as in her own country, earning her very favourable reviews both overseas and at home. In 1937, she was awarded the Order of the British Empire, for services to poetry. In 1942 she was granted a government annuity. In 1943, she was made an honorary member of the Royal Society of Literature.

However, during the 1940s this reputation was waning, being displaced as the works of other poets became better-known, and literary fashions changed. Her unwillingness for her poems to be represented in Allen Curnow’s two

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Citation: Ross, John C.. "Eileen Duggan". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 October 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1342, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1342 Eileen Duggan 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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