Kratzmann was introduced to Gwen Harwood's poetry by Gwen Savage, a high school teacher. He subsequently wrote extensively about Harwood's life and works. His letters from Gwen Harwood, 1991-1995, are kept at the Fryer Library, University of Queensland.
After his tertiary education at the University of Queensland, the Australian National University and Edinburgh University, he published several books on medieval and renaissance literature. He was a senior lecturer in English at La Trobe University, where he specialised in medieval and modern literature.
