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Gwen Harwood

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Gwen Harwood AO (8 June 1920 – 4 December 1995) was an Australian poet and librettist. She is regarded as one of Australia's finest poets, publishing over 420 works, including 386 poems and 13 librettos.[1] She won numerous poetry awards and prizes. Her work is commonly studied in schools and university courses.

Life[]

Harwood was born Gwendoline Nessie Foster in Taringa, Queensland and brought up in Brisbane. She attended Brisbane Girls Grammar School and was an organist at All Saints Church when she was young. She completed a music teacher's diploma, and also worked as a typist at the War Damage Commission from 1942.[1] Early in her life, she developed an interest in literature, philosophy and music.

Her father played piano, violin and the flute. Both Gwen and her brother were given piano lessons, and originally Gwen wanted to be a musician. Gwen's grandmother introduced her to poetry; this inspired her and became her life long calling and passion.

She moved to Tasmania after her marriage to linguist William Harwood in September 1945. Here she developed her lifelong interest in the work of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein "which informs her entire opus".[2] S

Literary career[]

Harwood had written poetry for many years, and her earliest published poem was in Meanjin in 1944, but her work did not start appearing regularly in journals and books until the 1960s.[2] Her debut collection, titled Poems, was published in 1963, followed in 1968 by Poems Volume II. Other books include The Lion's Bride (1981), Bone Scan (1988), and The Present Tense (1995). There are also several versions of a Selected Poems, including one from Penguin in 2001.

Harwood used a range of pseudonyms in her early work, such as Walter Lehmann, W.W. Hagendoor (an anagram of her name), Francis Geyer, Timothy (TF) Kline, Miriam Stone, and Alan Carvosso.

She also wrote libretti for composers such as Larry Sitsky, James Penberthy, Don Kay and Ian Cugley.[2]

She corresponded over the years with several poet friends, including Vincent Buckley, A. D. Hope, Vivian Smith, and Norman Talbot, and served as President of the Tasmanian Branch of the Fellowship of Australian Writers.[1]

Gwen Harwood is the mother of author John Harwood.

Writing[]

Harwood's poetry has recurring themes of motherhood and the stifled role of women, particularly those of young mothers. Music is another recurring motif. The Tasmanian landscape, and Aboriginal dispossession of that landscape, form another theme in much of her writing. She also wrote series of poems with recurring characters, two of the most notorious being Professor Eisenbart and Kröte. Many of her poems also include biblical references and religious allusions.

Recognition[]

The style and technique of Harwood's poetry has led to several of her works being employed by the New South Wales Board of Studies as prescribed texts for the High School Cerificate. Primary focus in the English course is placed on the analysis of the themes expressed in Harwood's poetry, and how such themes are relevant in modern society. Her work is also used as a text for the Victorian Certificate of Education and West Australian Certificate of Education Literature Courses in the poetry section for its literary value and complex themes.

Awards[]

  • 1942: The pancake manor
  • 1958: Meanjin Poetry Prize
  • 1959: Meanjin Poetry Prize
  • 1975: Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
  • 1977: Robert Frost Medallion (now known as Christopher Brennan Award)
  • 1978: Patrick White Award
  • 1980: The Age Book of the Year Award Book of the Year and Non-fiction Award for Blessed City
  • 1988: University of Tasmania Honorary D.Litt
  • 1989: Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)[3]
  • 1989: Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Bone Scan
  • 1990: J.J. Bray Award
  • 1994: University of Queensland Honorary doctorate
  • 1994: Latrobe University Honorary doctorate

Publications[]

Poetry[]

  • Poems. Syney: Angus & Robertson, 1963.
  • Poems: Volume two. Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1968.
  • The Lion's Bride. Sydney & London: Angus & Robertson, 1981.
  • Bone Scan. North Ryde, NSW: Angus & Robertson, 1988.
  • Collected Poems. Oxford, UK, & New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
  • The Present Tense (edited by Alison Hoddinott). Sydney: Imprint, 1995. ISBN 1-875892-28-1
  • Selected Poems (edited by G.C. Kratzmann). Ringwood, Vic: Penguin, 2001. ISBN 0-14-100668-4
  • Collected Poems, 1943-1995 (edited by Alison Hoddinott & Gregory Charles Katzmann). St. Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press, 2003. ISBN 0-7022-3352-8
  • Mappings of the Plain: New selected poems (edited by Chris Wallace-Crabbe & Gregory Charles Katzmann). Manchester, UK: Fyfield / Carcanet, 2009.
  • The Best 100 Poems of Gwen Harwood. Collingwood, Vic: Black Ink Books, 2014.

Non-fiction[]

  • Retirement into Life. Hobart, Tas: Australian Organization of Retired Teachers Associations, 1988.

Letters[]

  • Blessed City: Letters to Thomas Riddell, 1943, (edited by Alison Hoddinott). North Ryde, NSW: Angus & Robertson, 1990. ISBN 0-207-16587-4
  • A Steady Storm of Correspondence: Selected letters of Gwen Harwood, 1943-1995 (edited by Gregory Charles Kratzmann). St. Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press, 2001. ISBN 0-7022-3257-2


Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[4]

Audio / video[]

  • Gwen Harwood (VHS). Sydney: Australia Council, 1987.[4]
  • Poetry of Gwen Harwood: A selection (cassette). Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Corp., 1995.[4]

See also[]

References[]

  • Strauss, Jennifer (1992) Boundary Conditions: The Poetry of Gwen Harwood (UQP) ISBN 0-7022-2412-X
  • Trigg, Stephanie (1994) Gwen Harwood (OUP) ISBN 0-19-553280-5
  • Wilde, W., Hooton, J. & Andrews, B (1994) The Oxford Companion of Australian Literature 2nd ed. South Melbourne, Oxford University Press

Notes[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Wilde, Hooton and Andrews (1994) p. 349
  3. ↑ It's an Honour - Officer of the Order of Australia
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Search results = au:Gwen Harwood, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Sep. 14, 2014.

External links[]

Poems
Audio / video
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