Summary

The Letizia C. De Rosa Archive is a tribute to one woman's journey through North and Far North Queensland – as a teacher, writer, first-generation Australian, and only child of extraordinary migrants who built and owned a guest house for over 50 years in the centre of Cairns, who helped many others to succeed and defy the odds.

In 2012, Letizia became the PEN Sydney recipient and also the last recipient of this award for poets, essayists and novelists. It was given to her in recognition of her social justice values and in support of the values of PEN. Then, as a writer-cum-publisher, she learnt of the difficulties in the book industry for regional writers, so she founded the Book Creators Circle – a digital, international, geopolitical platform – archived on the National Library of Australia's Pandora Web.

Uniquely, this archive has been curated and created by Letizia, whose voice in the listing offers invaluable explanation to the items retained. Unique amongst the archives housed at James Cook University, is Letizia's manuscript 60 Treasured and Blessed Windows, a social commentary of approximately 160,000 words, which accompanies the De Rosa Archive, value-adds and gives context through a personal recount to some of the exhibits in the Archive.