Behind the Mirror by Mardi May

Behind the Mirror by Mardi May

Mardi May inherited ‘a gene for curiosity’.

In Behind the Mirror, her autobiography in poems, her habit of ‘always asking Why?’ is matched with a delight in the power of words. Whether she is searching for insights into the troubled years of childhood and family tensions, remembering with beautiful tenderness happier times of a second marriage and farm life, or confronting the sad ending of aged care and dementia for her husband, her experiences feel very real and poignantly recognizable.

Her poems are as vividly detailed as film scenes, enriched by both her curiosity and a generous desire to not only record the story, but to also understand what lies below the surface. From the early innocence of a street of many nationalities where children feel ‘all the same’ to the final years of widowhood and the salvation of ‘writing (herself) into each day’, this is compelling poetry, fearlessly honest in its documenting of the challenges of a life, and gracious in its acknowledgement of the other people who have been ‘behind the mirror’ and crucially important in that life.

Introducing Behind the Mirror

As a child, I had a fascination with the quirky people in my family. The eccentricity of my
paternal grandfather and his disappearance when I was eight, affected how I viewed my
family. When I was 13, my father left home and I began to write about loss, my family, the
sense of being a social misfit and a loner in a house with my young sister and embittered
mother. Writing poetry gave me a voice, albeit one of teenage angst, and poetry became a
confiding companion in my life.

The diaries I kept from the age of 13 and my many journals have been a rich source of
recalled events, which have inspired many of the poems in this collection. Likewise, the
people I’ve met, those I have formed relationships with, and the often-offbeat experiences at
home and abroad, have always engaged my curiosity and prompted my writing.

The poems in this collection have been divided into sections to reflect life stages and
relationships. They trace the legacy of genetic inheritance, the experiences of formative
years, influence of friendships and relationships, and the careers and pathways chosen, to
show how they have shaped who I am behind the mirror.

Mardi May

Behind the Mirror, a poetry collection by Mardi May was launched by Jan Napier.
Friday, 12 June 2026
6.00 pm to 7.30 pm
Midland Sports Complex
45 Patterson Drive, Middle Swan WA 6056

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