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Gwen Harwood

グウェン・ハーウッド

Gwen Harwood

Aliases: Gwendoline Nessie Foster
Pen Names: Walter Lehmann（Pseudonym used in early works）, Timothy F. Kline（Pseudonym used in early works）, W. W. Hagendoor（Pseudonym used in early works）, Francis Geyer（Pseudonym used in early works）, Miriam Stone（Pseudonym used in early works）, Alan Carvosso（Pseudonym used in early works）, Gwendoline Foster（Pseudonym used in early works）, Theophilus Panbury（Pseudonym used in early works）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1920-06-08 （Taringa, Brisbane）
Died
1995-12-05 （Hobart, Tasmania） age 75
Nationality
Australian
Languages
English
Religion
Anglican
Residence History
Taringa, Brisbane → Oyster Cove, south of Hobart, Tasmania → Hobart (West Hobart), Tasmania

Career

Occupations
poet, librettist
Active Years
1944-1995
Affiliations
Fellowship of Australian Writers, Tasmanian Branch (president)
Memberships
Fellowship of Australian Writers
Influenced By
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Influenced
John Harwood

Education

Brisbane Girls Grammar School
Degree: music teacher's diploma
Country: Australia
Completed music teacher's diploma; organist at All Saints' Church

Awards

Meanjin Poetry Prize
1959
Work: Caro Autem Infirma
Organization: Meanjin
Result: winner
Meanjin Poetry Prize
1960
Work: I Am the Captain of My Soul
Organization: Meanjin
Result: winner
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
1975
Work: Selected Poems
Result: winner
Robert Frost Medallion
1977
Result: winner
Patrick White Award
1978
Result: winner
The Age Book of the Year Award
1980
Work: Blessed City
Organization: The Age
Result: winner
The Age Book of the Year Award Non-fiction
1980
Work: Blessed City
Category: Non-fiction
Organization: The Age
Result: winner
University of Tasmania Honorary D.Litt.
1988
Organization: University of Tasmania
Result: 受与
Officer of the Order of Australia
1989
Organization: Australian Government
Result: 受章
Victorian Premier's Literary Award
1989
Work: Bone Scan
Organization: Victorian Government
Result: winner
J. J. Bray Award
1990
Result: winner
University of Queensland honorary doctorate
1993
Organization: University of Queensland
Result: 受与
La Trobe University honorary doctorate
1994
Organization: La Trobe University
Result: 受与
Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women
2005
Result: inducted

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Poems

1963 poetry collection

Her first collection of poems

motherhoodmusic

Poems Volume Two

1968 poetry collection

The Lion's Bride

1981 poetry collection

Bone Scan

1988 poetry collection

The Present Tense

1995 poetry collection

Gwen Harwood: Collected Poems, 1943–1995

2003 poetry collection

Posthumous collected poems

Bibliography

  • 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)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
complex and nuanced treatment of motherhoodformal verse structuresbiblical and religious allusions
Recurring Motifs
motherhoodmusicTasmanian landscapeAboriginal dispossessionProfessor EisenbartKröte

Legacy

Regarded as one of Australia's finest poets, publishing over 420 works, including 386 poems and 13 librettos. Her work is commonly studied in schools and university courses, and the Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize is named for her.

In Popular Culture

  • Her poetry is studied in HSC (NSW), VCE (VIC), IB, and WACE (WA) courses

Trivia

  • Famous for submitting a sonnet under pseudonym Walter Lehmann where the acrostic in the first letters spelled 'FUCK ALL EDITORS'
  • Mother of author John Harwood
  • Used numerous pseudonyms in early career, including anagrams and hoaxes on editors