Half a lifetime

by Judith A. Wright, Patricia Clarke (Editor)

Povez : polumek Broj strana :296 Stanje :odlično good condition 296 pages

Genres: Biography

296 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Judith Wright was probably Australia's greatest poet; she was also an ardent conservationist and activist. She died in 2000, at the age of 85.

Over a long and distinguished literary career, she published poetry, children's books, literary essays, biographies, histories and other works of non-fiction.

Her commitment to the Great Barrier Reef began in 1962, when she helped found the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland. She went on to become a member of the Committee of Enquiry into the National Estate and life member of the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Judith Wright worked tirelessly to promote land rights for Aboriginal people and to raise awareness among non-Aboriginal Australians of their plight arising from the legacy of European settlement. She has written The Cry for the Dead (1981), We Call for a Treaty (1985) and Born of the Conquerors (1991).

Judith Wright was awarded many honours for her writing, including the Grace Leven Award (twice), the New South Wales Premier's Prize, the Encyclopedia Britannica Prize for Literature, and the ASAN World Prize for Poetry. She has received honorary degrees (D.Litt.) from the Universities of New England, Sydney Monash, Melbourne, Griffith and New South Wales and the Australian National University. In 1994 she received the Human Rights Commission Award for Collected Poems.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever someone asks me to recommend an Australian collection of poetry my first thought is Judith Wright's work. I first came across Judith Wright's Poetry at The Australian National Library Bookshop in the early '90s and bought a beautiful illustrated collection of her much loved Bird poems.  Later while working at The Australian National University, ANU, I realised that as a young teenager I probably road my horse past her bush block, The Edge, outside Mongarlowe, while staying at my Aunties place. By the mid-90s Judith Wright had bequest the The Edge to ANU.  This memoir doesn't cover that part of her later life, only her life up to before she moved from Qld. It does cover quite a bit of her life as a descendent of multi-generations of Australia pastoralists and many of her own young exploits on horseback and growing up on a working property. That background was informative for much of her writing and later environmental activism and as  a campaigner for Aboriginal land rights.  She led a fascinating life and if not a trail blazer she certainly went quietly against society norms. Her reaction to WW2, her discussions on philosophy and writing, with her partner, Jack McKinney, were intelligent and more interesting than I expected. I'd have no hesitation in recommending this memoir for anyone interested in Australian women writers and poets, she's an exception writer. 

[Anne Fenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting addition to my recent reading of the letters of Judith Wright and her lover Jack McKinney in the 1940s-50s. This covers her childhood and working life Armidale, Sydney and wartime Brisbane in an engaging way. Way too much exploration of Jack's philosophy had me skipping through quite a bit of it.

[Emmeline]

I always find it difficult to rate autobiographies, because they are always so personal - this one in particular.

A beautiful, very personal tale of Judith Wright.