A Steady Storm of Correspondence

Book excerpt: Gwen Harwood has long been recognised as one of Australia's finest poets and librettists. She had a quicksilver intellect and a rare ability to go directly to the heart of whatever occupied her. Generosity of spirit, biting wit, and a superb command of a language characterise both her poetry and her letters to friends.The letters in this edition - written between 1943 and her death in 1995 - present a strong claim that Gwen Harwood be considered this country's greatest letter-writer. The selection includes less than one-tenth of the letters transcribed by her biographer Gregory Kratzmann. Half of the letters here were written to her good friend Tony Riddell, to whom she dedicated all but the last of her volumes of poetry. Her correspondents include major figures from the fields of literature, art and music in Australia, and her love of letter-writing shows the value she accorded to friendship.