Yass is home to many talented people in all walks of life, and Jane Baker is one such individual who has succeeded in writing. Mrs Baker has recently launched her fourth and fifth poetry books; the latter, titled ‘That other World’ was skillfully illustrated by her youngest daughter Penny Deacon. Both books can be bought locally at the Country Kitchen Cafe and the Yass News Agency.
Mrs Baker’s original plan was to have a launch event in Yass at a local venue in March with another in Canberra where her daughter lives. However, the outbreak of the Corona Virus put a dampener on those plans. Mrs Baker has since started to sell her new books titled ‘People’ and “That Other World’ in Yass with 350 published. This is an increase in her last works which had 250 copies published and sold out locally. Mrs Baker was hoping to break into the Canberra market this time around; however, the unprecedented pandemic has put that on hold.
Her life experiences inspire Jane Baker’s poetry with the latest being no exception. ‘People’ is drawing from her time spent overseas visiting and living in a variety of different countries.
“No Matter where you are, people are people. Governments come and go, ideologies come and go, but ordinary people are the same everywhere,” said Mrs Baker.
“‘That Other World’ is about everything else that lives in the Yass Valley besides us,” revealed Mrs Baker.
The Baker’s have a strong connection to wildlife with fifteen years of experience as carers for Wildcare, nursing multiple species of animals.
The Bakers moved to Yass in 1994 from the Blue Mountains in what Mrs Baker describes as ‘the best move they have ever made.’ Being a high school teacher, she took up a position at Yass High School. In the past, she had worked in Queanbeyan and the metropolitan area teaching English, History and Indonesian. Mrs Baker stated that knowing another language gives you ‘a different slant on things’ and has been helpful in her writing career.
“Once I got in the classroom, I loved it. I just enjoyed teaching,” said Mrs Baker.
During the last stages of her schooling life, the education department would administer an IQ test and give suggestions on appropriate careers for the students. Mrs Baker’s results returned with teaching, nursing, and journalism, which has proven to be spot-on as she has undergone all three areas in her lifetime.
Mrs Baker has been an avid writer since the age of nine years old when a 19th Century book called John Halifax Gentleman caught her attention and started her passion for literature. Since then, she has kept many journals, written publications for local news, written textbooks, published five poetry books and founded the writers club in Yass, The Yass Valley Writers.
“We meet once a month to share our writing. The opportunity that gives you of camaraderie with like-minded people and the challenge of the clash of ideas is just magic. You come home energised like ‘I can follow that track I can do that!’ It’s a really good group,” said Mrs Baker.
Traditionally writing with pen and ink, Mrs Baker has made the transition in the past five years to using a computer for her works. However, she still writes journals and letters daily on paper.
Mrs Baker speaks very fondly about her six children, three daughters and three sons, stating “they are all very talented and very good at what they do.” Her youngest daughter Penny Deacon is the creator of the beautiful watercolour paintings of wildlife in ‘That Other World.’

Mrs Deacon has started to gain a name as a professional artist with works hung in the Bald Archy and two successful exhibitions.
“She has a young family and is very busy, so she gives herself one day a week where she just paints,” said Mrs Baker.
The photos in ‘People’ are photos taken by Mrs Baker during her travels.
There was a five-year gap between her last publication and the release of her two latest poetry books, and Mrs Baker believes her next works will be another five years in the making.
‘People’ and ‘That Other World’ can be purchased at the Country Kitchen Cafe and the Yass Newsagency for $12 dollars each. Not only are they a fantastic read but support a great local talent who devotes considerable time to rescue work of vulnerable wildlife.
By Ryan Betts.