Cirrus@Austlit

'Clem Christesen, my husband, founder of Meanjin, was the great love of my life, but there were other loves, secret and unrequited. My first love was Eugene when I was twelve. I loved his intensity, his aching heart, his mellifluous words that made my mind spin. He was a man of dreams and I was a yearning girl. My second love was Andrei, when I was sixteen, a handsome intellectual, a sardonic war hero of royal descent, who was already married. A man with bold gestures, he swept me off my feet. I spent many hours with him but he preferred someone else. I pined but remained steadfast and true.' (Introduction)