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{{short description|Australian poet}}
'''Gwen Harwood''' [[Officer of the Order of Australia|AO]] (8 June 1920{{ndash}}4 December 1995), née '''Gwendoline Nessie Foster''', was an Australian poet and [[libretto|librettist]]. Gwen Harwood is regarded as one of Australia's finest poets, publishing over 420 works, including 386 poems and 13 librettos.<ref name="Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women">[http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/cdd/women/leadership/tasmanian_honour_roll_of_women/inductees/2005/gwen_harwood_ao ''Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women'']</ref> She won numerous poetry awards and prizes. Her work is commonly studied in schools and university courses.
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox poet
| name = Gwen Harwood
| image_upright =
| image_size =
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|AO|size=100}}
| image = Portrait of Gwen Harwood, West Hobart, Tasmania, 1988.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Portrait of Gwen Harwood, West Hobart, Tasmania, 1988
| pseudonym = Walter Lehmann<br>Timothy F. Kline<br>W. W. Hagendoor<br>Francis Geyer<br>Miriam Stone<br>Alan Carvosso<br>Gwendoline Foster<br>Theophilus Panbury
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1920|06|08|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Taringa, Queensland|Taringa]], [[Brisbane]]
| death_date = {{death date and age |1995|12|05 |1920|06|08 |df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Hobart, Tasmania]]
| language = English
| nationality = Australian
| years_active = 1963{{spaced ndash}}1988
| birth_name = Gwendoline Nessie Foster
| children = [[John Harwood (writer)|John Harwood]]
| spouse = {{marriage |Bill Harwood |September 1945}}
⚫
}}
'''Gwen Harwood''' {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|AO}} (née '''Gwendoline Nessie Foster''', 8 June 1920{{spaced ndash}}5 December 1995)<ref name=ADB /> was an Australian poet and [[libretto|librettist]]. Harwood is regarded as one of Australia's finest poets, publishing over 420 works, including 386 poems and 13 librettos.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Keane|first=Colleen|date=2013-02-11|title=Gwen Harwood, Selected Poems|url=https://www.smh.com.au/education/gwen-harwood-selected-poems-20130211-2e7lg.html|access-date=2021-05-20|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref> She won numerous poetry awards and prizes, and one of Australia's most significant poetry prizes, the [[Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize]] is named for her.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |title=Gwen Harwood |url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A2707 |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=AustLit: Discover Australian Stories |language=en}}</ref> Her work is commonly studied in schools and university courses.


Gwen Harwood is the mother of the author [[John Harwood (writer)|John Harwood]].
Gwen Harwood was the mother of the author [[John Harwood (writer)|John Harwood]].


==Life==
==Life==
She was born 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.<ref name="Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women"/> Early in her life, she developed an interest in literature, philosophy and music.
Harwood was born on 8 June 1920 in [[Taringa, Queensland|Taringa]], a suburb of [[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. Early in her life, she developed an interest in literature, philosophy and music.<ref name=ADB>{{Cite Australian Dictionary of Biography|last=Hoddinott|first=Alison|title=Harwood, Gwendoline Nessie (Gwen) (1920–1995)|id2=harwood-gwendoline-nessie-gwen-22407|volume=19|year=2021}}</ref>


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".<ref name="Wilde 1994 p. 349">Wilde, Hooton and Andrews (1994) p. 349</ref>
She married linguist Bill Harwood in September 1945, shortly after which they moved to Oyster Cove south of [[Hobart]] as he was appointed a lecturer at the [[University of Tasmania]]. Here she developed her lifelong interest in the work of philosopher [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]] "which informs her entire opus".<ref name="Wilde 1994 p. 349">{{cite book|title=The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature|editor1-last=Wilde|editor1-first=William H.|editor2-last=Hooton|editor2-first=Joy|editor3-last=Andrews|editor3-first=Barry|year=1994|page=349|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195533811}}</ref>


Her father played piano, violin, guitar 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.
Her father played piano, violin, guitar 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 lifelong calling and passion.


==Literary career==
==Literary career==
Gwen Harwood had written poetry for many years, and her first poem was published in ''[[Meanjin]]'' in 1944, but her work did not start appearing regularly in journals and books until the 1960s.<ref name="Wilde 1994 p. 349"/> Her first book of poems, 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 Books|Penguin]] in 2001.
Harwood had written poetry for many years, and her first poem was published in ''[[Meanjin]]'' in 1944, but her work did not start appearing regularly in journals and books until the 1960s.<ref name="Wilde 1994 p. 349"/> Her first book of poems, 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 Books|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''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nelson|first=Camilla|title=Reclaim Her Name: why we should free Australia's female novelists from their male pseudonyms|url=http://theconversation.com/reclaim-her-name-why-we-should-free-australias-female-novelists-from-their-male-pseudonyms-144404|access-date=2021-06-01|website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]}}</ref> Most of her poems submitted for publication under her own name were initially rejected. The editor of ''Meanjin'', [[Clem Christesen|C. B. Christesen]], once rejected a poem from Harwood but used an expression in it ("the freckled shade") as the title of one of his own poems. In 1961 ''[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]]'' accepted a [[sonnet]] from her alter ego Walter Lehmann, but only after it was published was it brought to the attention of the editor, [[Donald Horne]], that the [[acrostic|initial letters of each line]] formed the phrase "FUCK ALL EDITORS".<ref>{{Cite magazine
Harwood used a range of [[pseudonym]]s 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''.
| magazine=[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]]|title=Abelard to Eloisa|author=Walter Lehmann
| date=5 August 1961
| volume=82|number=4251|page=33
| location=Sydney, N.S.W
| url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-684514735/view?partId=nla.obj-684607078#page/n32/mode/1up
| access-date=23 April 2022
| via=[[Trove]]}}</ref> After this, she found much greater acceptance.<ref>Barry Oakley, "Pugnacious poet", review of ''Selected Letters of Gwen Harwood'', ''[[The Weekend Australian]]'', Books, 29–30 December 2001, p. R11</ref>


She also wrote libretti for composers such as [[Larry Sitsky]], [[James Penberthy]], [[Don Kay (composer)|Don Kay]] and [[Ian Cugley]].<ref name="Wilde 1994 p. 349"/>
She also wrote libretti for composers such as [[Larry Sitsky]], [[James Penberthy]], [[Don Kay (composer)|Don Kay]] and [[Ian Cugley]].<ref name="Wilde 1994 p. 349"/>


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.<ref name="Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women"/>
She corresponded over the years with several poet friends, including [[Vincent Buckley]], [[A. D. Hope]], [[Vivian Smith (poet)|Vivian Smith]], and [[Norman Talbot (poet)|Norman Talbot]], as well as family and other friends such as Tony Riddell, and two volumes of her letters have been published. She served as president of the Tasmanian Branch of the Fellowship of Australian Writers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gwen Harwood – Poems by the Famous Poet – All Poetry|url=https://allpoetry.com/Gwen-Harwood|access-date=2021-05-31|website=allpoetry.com}}</ref>


Her poetry has been used by many students who are completing the Higher School Certificate (HSC) in New South Wales, Australia, and by Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students in Victoria, Australia.
Her poetry has been used by many students who are completing the Higher School Certificate (HSC) in New South Wales, Australia, by Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students in Victoria, Australia, by the International Baccalaureate (IB) in Australia, and by Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) students in Western Australia, Australia.


==Literary themes and style==
==Literary themes and style==
Harwood's poetry has recurring themes of motherhood and the stifled role of women, particularly those of young mothers. Her poem "In the Park" established a certain feminist reputation but others of her poems treat motherhood in a more complex and nuanced way. 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.
Harwood's poetry has recurring themes of motherhood and the stifled role of women, particularly those of young mothers. Her poem "In the Park" established a certain feminist reputation but others of her poems treat motherhood in a more complex and nuanced way.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The Best 100 Poems of Gwen Harwood {{!}} Review {{!}}|url=https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/review/gwen-harwood-poems/|access-date=2021-06-01|website=Sydney Review of Books|language=en}}</ref> Music is another recurring motif. The Tasmanian landscape, and Aboriginal dispossession of that landscape, form another theme in much of her writing.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Harrex|first=Syd|date=1986|title=Island lyrics: Vivian Smith, Gwen Harwood, and James McAuley|url=https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.764543371624687|journal=[[Island Magazine]]|issue=25–26|pages=67–73|via=Informit}}</ref> She also wrote series of poems with recurring characters, two of the most notorious being Professor Eisenbart and Kröte.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Strauss|first=Jennifer|author-link=Jennifer Strauss|date=1994|title=Playing in time: the poetry of Gwen Harwood|journal=Critical Survey|volume=6|issue=1|pages=81–87|jstor=41556562|issn=0011-1570}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Edgar|first=Stephen|date=1986|title=An interview with Gwen Harwood|url=https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.764580637567204|journal=[[Island Magazine]]|issue=25–26|pages=74–76|via=Informit}}</ref> Many of her poems also include biblical references and religious allusions.<ref>{{Citation|last=Evans|first=Raymond|title=Disparate Visions: The Contested Homefront Worlds of Gwen Harwood, Faith Richmond and Judith Wright (1939–1945)|date=2017|work=Claiming Space for Australian Women’s Writing|pages=141–161|editor-last=Das|editor-first=Devaleena|place=Cham|publisher=Springer International Publishing|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-50400-1_8|isbn=978-3-319-50400-1|editor2-last=Dasgupta|editor2-first=Sanjukta}}</ref>


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.
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 Certificate.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Glenda.|first=Smith|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1030989497|title=Gwen Harwood|date=2003|publisher=Pascal Press|isbn=1-74125-039-0|oclc=1030989497}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Citation|title=Notes|date=2009-12-31|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9780691190419-008|work=Selected Poems|pages=101–126|publisher=Princeton University Press|doi=10.1515/9780691190419-008|isbn=978-0-691-19041-9|access-date=2021-06-01}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Texts in the City goes digital|url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/projects/texts-in-the-city-goes-digital|access-date=2021-06-01|website=[[Wheeler Centre]]}}</ref>


==Awards==
==Awards==
* 1959: ''Meanjin'' Poetry Prize for "Caro Autem Infirma"<ref name=":1" />
* 1942: [[The pancake manor]]
* 1958: [[Meanjin Poetry Prize]]
* 1960: ''Meanjin'' Poetry Prizefor "I Am the Captain of My Soul"<ref name=":1" />
⚫
* 1975: [[Grace Leven Prize for Poetry]] for ''Selected Poems'' (1975)<ref name=":1" />
* 1959: [[Meanjin Poetry Prize]]
⚫
* 1977: Robert Frost Medallion (now known as [[Christopher Brennan Award]])<ref name=":1" />
⚫
* 1975: [[Grace Leven Prize for Poetry]]
⚫
* 1978: [[Patrick White Award]]<ref name=":1" />
⚫
* 1977: Robert Frost Medallion (now known as [[Christopher Brennan Award]])
⚫
* 1980: [[The Age Book of the Year Award]] and Non-fiction Award for ''Blessed City''<ref name=":1" />
⚫
* 1978: [[Patrick White Award]]
⚫
* 1988: [[University of Tasmania]] Honorary D.Litt.<ref name="ADB" />
⚫
* 1980: [[The Age Book of the Year]] Award Book of the Year and Non-fiction Award for ''Blessed City''
* 1989: [[Order of Australia|Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mrs Gwendoline Nessie Harwood |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870299 |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=It's an Honour}}</ref>
⚫
* 1988: [[University of Tasmania]] Honorary D.Litt
* 1989: [[Victorian Premier's Literary Award]] for ''Bone Scan<ref name=":1" />''
* 1989: [[Order of Australia|Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)]]<ref>[http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=870299&search_type=quick&showInd=true It's an Honour] - Officer of the Order of Australia</ref>
* 1989: [[Victorian Premier's Literary Award]] for ''Bone Scan''
* 1990: J. J. Bray Award<ref name=":1" />
* 1993: [[University of Queensland]] honorary doctorate<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-01-05 |title=Gwen Harwood AO |url=https://alumni.uq.edu.au/story/1506/gwen-harwood-ao |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=alumni.uq.edu.au |language=en}}</ref>
* 1990: [[J.J. Bray Award]]
* 1994: [[University of Queensland]] Honorary doctorate
* 1994: [[La Trobe University]] honorary doctorate<ref name="ADB" />
* 2005: [[Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women]] inducted for service to the arts<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Callum J. |title=Gwen Harwood: A Biography - Tasmanian Times |url=https://tasmaniantimes.com/2020/06/gwen-harwood-a-biography/ |access-date=2022-06-08 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 1994: [[Latrobe University]] Honorary doctorate


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==

===Poetry===
===Poetry===
* ''Poems'' (1963)
* ''Poems'' (1963)
Line 47: Line 78:
* ''The Lion's Bride'' (1981)
* ''The Lion's Bride'' (1981)
* ''Bone Scan'' (1988)
* ''Bone Scan'' (1988)
* ''The Present Tense'', ed. Alison Hoddinott (Imprint, 1995) ISBN 1-875892-28-1
* ''The Present Tense'' (1995)
* ''Gwen Harwood: Selected Poems'' (Penguin, 2001) ISBN 0-14-100668-4
* ''Gwen Harwood : Collected Poems, 1943–1995'' (2003)
* ''Gwen Harwood: Collected Poems 1943-1995'' (UQP, 2003) ISBN 0-7022-3352-8


===Letters===
===Letters===
* ''Blessed City: Letters to Thomas Riddell 1943'', ed. Alison Hoddinott (Angus & Robertson, 1990) ISBN 0-207-16587-4
* ''Blessed City: Letters to Thomas Riddell 1943'', ed. Alison Hoddinott (Angus & Robertson, 1990) {{ISBN|0-207-16587-4}}
* ''A Steady Storm of Correspondence: Selected Letters of Gwen Harwood 1943-1995'', ed. Gregory Kratzmann (UQP, 2001) ISBN 0-7022-3257-2
* ''A Steady Storm of Correspondence: Selected Letters of Gwen Harwood 1943–1995'', ed. Gregory Kratzmann (University of Queensland Press, 2001) {{ISBN|0-7022-3257-2}}


===Selected individual poems===
==Notes==
* "[[Suburban Sonnet]]" (1963)
⚫
{{reflist}}


==References==
==References==
⚫
{{reflist}}
* [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/poetica/stories/s1097220.htm "Gwen Harwood" broadcast on ''Poetica'', 19 June 2004]
* Wilde, W., Hooton, J. & Andrews, B (1994) ''The Oxford Companion of Australian Literature'' 2nd ed. South Melbourne, Oxford University Press


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Priest|first=Ann-Marie|date=2022|title=My Tongue Is My Own: A Life of Gwen Harwood|publisher=La Trobe University Press|isbn=9781760642341|ref=none}}
* 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
* [[Jennifer Strauss|Strauss, Jennifer]] (1992) ''Boundary Conditions: The Poetry of Gwen Harwood'' (University of Queensland Press) {{ISBN|0-7022-2412-X}}
* [[Stephanie Trigg|Trigg, Stephanie]] (1994) [https://web.archive.org/web/20070911022841/http://eprints.infodiv.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00002035/ ''Gwen Harwood''] (Oxford University Press) {{ISBN|0-19-553280-5}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
* [http://sinisterfrog.com/writings/gwen_harwood An analysis of the writings of Gwen Harwood]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060703154404/http://sinisterfrog.com/writings/gwen_harwood An analysis of the writings of Gwen Harwood]
⚫
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080111191133/http://www.trinity.wa.edu.au/plduffyrc/subjects/english/aust/harwood.htm Useful links], trinity.wa.edu.au
* [http://eprints.infodiv.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00002035/ ''Gwen Harwood''] by Stephanie Trigg ([[Pdf]])
* [https://allpoetry.com/Gwen-Harwood 9 poems at AllPoetry]
⚫
* [http://www.trinity.wa.edu.au/plduffyrc/subjects/english/aust/harwood.htm Useful links]


{{Portal bar|Biography|Poetry}}
<!--- please note: the other link is being removed as it's not very useful, those 3 links are here now, thnx --->
{{Authority control|state=collapsed}}


<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME=Harwood, Gwen
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Walter Lehmann, W.W. Hagendoor, Francis Geyer, Timothy (TF) Kline, Miriam Stone, Alan Carvosso
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Australian [[poet]]
|DATE OF BIRTH=8 June 1920
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Taringa, Queensland]], Australia
|DATE OF DEATH=9 December 1995
|PLACE OF DEATH=[[Hobart]], [[Tasmania]], Australia
⚫
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harwood, Gwen}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harwood, Gwen}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
⚫
[[Category:Australian poets]]
⚫
[[Category:Australian women writers]]
[[Category:Australian opera librettists]]
[[Category:Australian opera librettists]]
[[Category:People from Brisbane]]
[[Category:Writers from Brisbane]]
[[Category:Writers from Hobart]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:Cholmondeley Award winners]]
[[Category:Patrick White Award winners]]
⚫
[[Category:Australian women poets]]

[[Category:Australian women dramatists and playwrights]]
[[de:Gwen Harwood]]
[[Category:Women librettists]]
⚫
[[Category:20th-century Australian women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:People educated at Brisbane Girls Grammar School]]

Latest revision as of 22:07, 16 December 2024

Gwen Harwood

AO
Portrait of Gwen Harwood, West Hobart, Tasmania, 1988
Portrait of Gwen Harwood, West Hobart, Tasmania, 1988
BornGwendoline Nessie Foster
(1920-06-08)8 June 1920
Taringa, Brisbane
Died5 December 1995(1995-12-05) (aged 75)
Hobart, Tasmania
Pen nameWalter Lehmann
Timothy F. Kline
W. W. Hagendoor
Francis Geyer
Miriam Stone
Alan Carvosso
Gwendoline Foster
Theophilus Panbury
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAustralian
Years active1963 – 1988
Spouse
Bill Harwood
​
(m. 1945)​
ChildrenJohn Harwood

Gwen Harwood AO (née Gwendoline Nessie Foster, 8 June 1920 – 5 December 1995)[1] was an Australian poet and librettist. Harwood is regarded as one of Australia's finest poets, publishing over 420 works, including 386 poems and 13 librettos.[2] She won numerous poetry awards and prizes, and one of Australia's most significant poetry prizes, the Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize is named for her.[3] Her work is commonly studied in schools and university courses.

Gwen Harwood was the mother of the author John Harwood.

Life

[edit]

Harwood was born on 8 June 1920 in Taringa, a suburb of 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. Early in her life, she developed an interest in literature, philosophy and music.[1]

She married linguist Bill Harwood in September 1945, shortly after which they moved to Oyster Cove south of Hobart as he was appointed a lecturer at the University of Tasmania. Here she developed her lifelong interest in the work of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein "which informs her entire opus".[4]

Her father played piano, violin, guitar 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 lifelong calling and passion.

Literary career

[edit]

Harwood had written poetry for many years, and her first poem was published in Meanjin in 1944, but her work did not start appearing regularly in journals and books until the 1960s.[4] Her first book of poems, 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.[5] Most of her poems submitted for publication under her own name were initially rejected. The editor of Meanjin, C. B. Christesen, once rejected a poem from Harwood but used an expression in it ("the freckled shade") as the title of one of his own poems. In 1961 The Bulletin accepted a sonnet from her alter ego Walter Lehmann, but only after it was published was it brought to the attention of the editor, Donald Horne, that the initial letters of each line formed the phrase "FUCK ALL EDITORS".[6] After this, she found much greater acceptance.[7]

She also wrote libretti for composers such as Larry Sitsky, James Penberthy, Don Kay and Ian Cugley.[4]

She corresponded over the years with several poet friends, including Vincent Buckley, A. D. Hope, Vivian Smith, and Norman Talbot, as well as family and other friends such as Tony Riddell, and two volumes of her letters have been published. She served as president of the Tasmanian Branch of the Fellowship of Australian Writers.[8]

Her poetry has been used by many students who are completing the Higher School Certificate (HSC) in New South Wales, Australia, by Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students in Victoria, Australia, by the International Baccalaureate (IB) in Australia, and by Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) students in Western Australia, Australia.

Literary themes and style

[edit]

Harwood's poetry has recurring themes of motherhood and the stifled role of women, particularly those of young mothers. Her poem "In the Park" established a certain feminist reputation but others of her poems treat motherhood in a more complex and nuanced way.[9] Music is another recurring motif. The Tasmanian landscape, and Aboriginal dispossession of that landscape, form another theme in much of her writing.[10] She also wrote series of poems with recurring characters, two of the most notorious being Professor Eisenbart and Kröte.[9][11][12] Many of her poems also include biblical references and religious allusions.[13]

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 Certificate.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

Awards

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]

Poetry

[edit]
  • Poems (1963)
  • Poems Volume Two (1968)
  • The Lion's Bride (1981)
  • Bone Scan (1988)
  • The Present Tense (1995)
  • Gwen Harwood : Collected Poems, 1943–1995 (2003)

Letters

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  • Blessed City: Letters to Thomas Riddell 1943, ed. Alison Hoddinott (Angus & Robertson, 1990) ISBN 0-207-16587-4
  • A Steady Storm of Correspondence: Selected Letters of Gwen Harwood 1943–1995, ed. Gregory Kratzmann (University of Queensland Press, 2001) ISBN 0-7022-3257-2

Selected individual poems

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hoddinott, Alison (2021). "Harwood, Gwendoline Nessie (Gwen) (1920–1995)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 19. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
  2. ^ Keane, Colleen (11 February 2013). "Gwen Harwood, Selected Poems". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Gwen Harwood". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Wilde, William H.; Hooton, Joy; Andrews, Barry, eds. (1994). The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature. Oxford University Press. p. 349. ISBN 9780195533811.
  5. ^ Nelson, Camilla. "Reclaim Her Name: why we should free Australia's female novelists from their male pseudonyms". The Conversation. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  6. ^ Walter Lehmann (5 August 1961). "Abelard to Eloisa". The Bulletin. Vol. 82, no. 4251. Sydney, N.S.W. p. 33. Retrieved 23 April 2022 – via Trove.
  7. ^ Barry Oakley, "Pugnacious poet", review of Selected Letters of Gwen Harwood, The Weekend Australian, Books, 29–30 December 2001, p. R11
  8. ^ "Gwen Harwood – Poems by the Famous Poet – All Poetry". allpoetry.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b "The Best 100 Poems of Gwen Harwood | Review |". Sydney Review of Books. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  10. ^ Harrex, Syd (1986). "Island lyrics: Vivian Smith, Gwen Harwood, and James McAuley". Island Magazine (25–26): 67–73 – via Informit.
  11. ^ Strauss, Jennifer (1994). "Playing in time: the poetry of Gwen Harwood". Critical Survey. 6 (1): 81–87. ISSN 0011-1570. JSTOR 41556562.
  12. ^ Edgar, Stephen (1986). "An interview with Gwen Harwood". Island Magazine (25–26): 74–76 – via Informit.
  13. ^ Evans, Raymond (2017), Das, Devaleena; Dasgupta, Sanjukta (eds.), "Disparate Visions: The Contested Homefront Worlds of Gwen Harwood, Faith Richmond and Judith Wright (1939–1945)", Claiming Space for Australian Women’s Writing, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 141–161, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-50400-1_8, ISBN 978-3-319-50400-1
  14. ^ Glenda., Smith (2003). Gwen Harwood. Pascal Press. ISBN 1-74125-039-0. OCLC 1030989497.
  15. ^ "Notes", Selected Poems, Princeton University Press, pp. 101–126, 31 December 2009, doi:10.1515/9780691190419-008, ISBN 978-0-691-19041-9, retrieved 1 June 2021
  16. ^ "Texts in the City goes digital". Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Mrs Gwendoline Nessie Harwood". It's an Honour. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Gwen Harwood AO". alumni.uq.edu.au. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  19. ^ Jones, Callum J. "Gwen Harwood: A Biography - Tasmanian Times". Retrieved 8 June 2022.

Further reading

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