Reilly, Catherine W. 1925–2005

(Catherine Winifred Reilly)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born April 4, 1925, in Stretford, Lancashire, England; died of cancer, September 26, 2005, in Heald Green, Cheshire, England. Librarian and author. Reilly was a librarian who was best known as a bibliographer and editor of poetry collections. After working as a clerk in the Civil Service, she took a job in 1953 as a student librarian in Manchester, England. She worked in such positions as reference librarian and senior cataloger until 1972. She then became borough librarian for the Borough of Sale in Cheshire and, from 1974 until 1980, assistant borough librarian for the Borough of Trafford. Reilly's first book was highly acclaimed; English Poetry of the First World War: A Bibliography (1978) reveals the significant contribution of women poets of the period. She later followed this with two edited collections of poetry by women from World Wars I and II and English Poetry of the Second World War: A Bibliography (1986), published the same year she completed her M.Litt. at Merton College, Oxford. Reilly also wrote bibliographies of poetry from the Victorian era and was the compiler of Winged Words: An Anthology of Victorian Women's Poetry and Verse (1994). At the time of her death, she was working on a new book, Early Victorian Poetry.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Guardian (London, England), October 31, 2005, p. 32.

Independent (London, England), October 10, 2005.