First Things First: Selected Letters of Kate Llewellyn 1977-2004

by Kate Llewellyn

I've always said I will write anywhere. You could throw me into prison, cut off my arms and legs and you will find me in the morning with a pen in my mouth writing on the floor.

Collected here for the first time are selected letters from the private correspondence of one of Australia's most loved authors, Kate Llewellyn (The Waterlily, A Fig at the Gate). Written with her distinctive ardour and enthusiasm, skipping some words, shortening others, she discusses poetry, art, sex and gardening with painters and writers.

Kate Llewellyn's letters brim with energy and humour. Editors Ruth Bacchus and Barbara Hill have sifted through decades of correspondence to produce a volume which reveals her life and work, and the result is a joy to read: a precious insight into the world of one of this country's master wordsmiths.

320 pages, Paperback

Published November 6, 2018

About the author

Kate Llewellyn is the author of nineteen books, including the bestselling The Waterlily: A Blue Mountains Journal and Playing With Water: A Story of a Garden. A distinguished Australian poet, she has published six books of poetry and is the co-editor of The Penguin Book of Australian Women Poets. Her travel books include Lilies, Feathers & Frangipani on the Cook Islands and New Zealand; Angels and Dark Madonnas on India and Italy; and Gorillas, Tea & Coffee: An African Sketchbook. Her books The Floral Mother & Other Essays, The Waterlily and Playing With Water have been made into talking books

She is one of Australia’s bestselling authors...

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warm, funny but also sometimes heartrending letters by Australian poet and writer, Kate Llewellyn, sharing with courageous openness her life as a woman and writer. For my complete review, please see: http://whisperinggums.com/2015/06/20/...

[Skyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read all of the author's prose books and much of her poetry makes these letters all the more meaningful. I love the further insight into her life.