Ruth Dallas

Ruth Minnie Mumford (29 September 1919 – 18 March 2008), better known by her pen name Ruth Dallas, was a New Zealand poet and children's author.

Biography Dallas was born in Invercargill, the daughter of Frank and Minnie Mumford. She became blind in one eye at 15, then spent three years at the Southland Technical College and was engaged at 19. But her fiancé broke off the engagement to serve in Great Britain during World War II. During the war she worked at an army office and as a milk tester. Following the war, in 1946, her first published poem, "Morning Mountains" appeared in The Southland Times. She adopted her maternal grandmother's name, Dallas, as a pen name. Nevertheless, her poetry is said to be influenced by William Wordsworth (and later in life by shorter Chinese poetry) and focuses upon southern New Zealand landscape.