Introduction

  The signature “S. M. Edis” has appeared at the bottom of a number of poems printed in various publications, particularly “The Penticton Herald” during the 1980’s. Some of the verses contained in this collection have already been published that way and others have been used for church concerts, talent nights and other special events.

  One poem – “A letter to Santa” – was extracted from a short play Shirley wrote for a Christmas concert. She has written other plays also for amateur productions.

  Her feeling for metre and rhyme was probably encouraged by her mother, Amy Huscroft, who often read to her young daughter from” A Child’s Garden of Verses”. This, aided by natural humour, made possible the creation of such interesting pieces as “Green Fuzzies in the Fridge”.

  Travelling to and through Europe in her early twenties, she recounted her journeying in a series of articles in her hometown newspaper in Creston. She worked for the Vancouver “Sun” in its editorial library and on her second trip to Europe met Australian journalist Graham Edis in London, England. They were married on January 17, 1958.

  On their return to Australia via Canada they both continued their writing work with the Messenger Newspaper group, Graham as Manager/Editor of several suburban newspapers and Shirley as social writer for the publications.

  It was in Australia that the couple became members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and from this period reflections on religion became a subtle part of Shirley’s writings. “Changing Times” is one such work written on the back of a shopping list while riding into Adelaide, South Australia, by bus.

  Although her production has not been very large, she has shown the unusual ability to create a poem for a special occasion in a matter of minutes.

  This printed collection, gathered by her husband, Graham, and typeset and printed by her son, Trevor, as a Christmas present, has been made to ensure her writings are not lost but kept together for the enjoyment of others. So here are her poems together at last.