John Harwood John Harwood i(A35620 works by)
Born: Established: Hobart, Southeast Tasmania, Tasmania, ;
Gender: Male
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Works By

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1 y separately published work icon John Harwood on Gwen Harwood and the Perils of Reticence John Harwood , Peter Rose (presenter), 2022 24765554 2022 single work podcast

'Ann-Marie Priest’s My Tongue Is My Own, published by La Trobe University Press and reviewed in our June issue, is the first authorised biography of the Australian poet Gwen Harwood (1920–1995). Unsurprisingly, this was not the first attempt to record the life of one of Australia’s most loved and admired poets. In an exclusive feature for ABR, John Harwood reflects on the conflicting motives behind his literary executorship of his mother’s estate – an estate holding the secrets to an at-times fractious marriage between two opposing temperaments.

'It’s a candid, fascinating addition to the vast literature surrounding Ian Hamilton’s Keepers of the Flame (1992) and the knotty ethics of literary biography.

'John Harwood has written poetry, fiction, biography, environmental journalism, literary criticism, and satire. His novels The Ghost Writer (2004), The Séance (2008), and The Asylum (2012) have been translated into several languages and won several awards. 

'This commentary is generously supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.' (Production summary)

1 Gwen Harwood and the Perils of Reticence : Notes of a Son and Literary Executor John Harwood , 2022 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June no. 443 2022; (p. 16-18, 20)

'When Ann-Marie Priest wrote to me in 2015 asking whether she might talk to me about her proposed biography of my mother, and requesting my permission to examine some correspondence in the Fryer Library, which I, as Gwen Harwood’s literary executor, had placed on restricted access, I replied with a terse refusal to cooperate. Since my mother’s death in December 1995, I had kept tight control of her vast correspondence, nearly all of which she had donated to various research libraries over the last two decades of her life, and I saw no reason to change my ways.'  (Introduction)

1 6 y separately published work icon The Asylum John Harwood , North Sydney : Random House Australia , 2013 Z1929814 2013 single work novel thriller 'Georgina Ferrars, a young woman living quietly with her uncle in London, wakes to find herself in a private asylum 200 miles away on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, with no memory of the past six weeks. Dr Straker, the charismatic physician in charge, tells her that she has suffered a seizure - and that her name is not Georgina Ferrars, but Lucy Ashton. A telegram from her uncle confirms that Georgina Ferrars is still in London. Her protests only serve to convince the doctors that she is in the grip of 'hysterical possession', and Georgina is certified insane.

So begins The Asylum, a gothic suspense novel set in late Victorian England. With no friends, no money, and no one she dare trust, Georgina is left with only her stubborn determination to find out what happened during those missing weeks, no matter how terrifying the consequences.'
1 Face to Face John Harwood , 2011 single work short story horror
— Appears in: Ghosts By Gaslight : Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense 2011; (p. 184-195) The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2011 2012; (p. 243-254)

'Laura is sitting up late with her old friend Maurice, a poet, deeply engaged in discussion when he is moved to reveal the great tragic secret of his youth: the woman he loved was driven by financial need to marry a cruel man who isolated and tormented her and destroyed her writing, which in Maurice’s opinion was quite fine. At last, with her child’s death, Claire took her own life, leaving behind a manuscript, which was found scattered on the floor near her husband’s corpse as he lay with his face “frozen into an expression of indescribable terror, and entirely blanched, as if vitriol had been flung across the features.” This manuscript eventually came into Maurice’s possession, and it has haunted him ever since, although he has never been able to finish reading it.'

Source: Locus Magazine (www.locusmag.com/Reviews/2011/08/lois-tilton-reviews-short-fiction-late-august-2/). (Sighted: 30/11/2016)

5 10 y separately published work icon The Seance John Harwood , Boston : Harcourt , 2008 Z1484341 2008 single work novel mystery
1 On My Bedside Table : John Harwood John Harwood , 2004 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 20 March 2004; (p. 6)
4 16 y separately published work icon The Ghost Writer John Harwood , London : Jonathan Cape , 2004 Z1105256 2004 single work novel mystery

'In this tantalizing tale of Victorian ghost stories and family secrets, timid, solitary librarian Gerard Freeman lives for just two things: his elusive pen pal Alice and a story he found hidden in his mother's drawer years ago. Written by his great-grandmother Viola, it hints at his mother's role in a sinister crime. As he discovers more of Viola's chilling tales, he realizes that they might hold the key to finding Alice and unveiling his family's mystery-or will they bring him the untimely death they seem to foretell?

'Harwood's astonishing, assured debut shows us just how dangerous family skeletons-and stories-can be.' (Publication summary)

1 Meanjin Bites the (Fijian) Bullet John Harwood , 1992 single work review
— Appears in: The CRNLE Reviews Journal , no. 1 1992; (p. 127-130)

— Review of Tandava Sudesh Mishra , 1992 selected work poetry
1 1 Word Games John Harwood , 1992 single work criticism
— Appears in: Island , Spring no. 52 1992; (p. 22-26)
1 The Ghost of Roger Hollis i "O what has made that sudden noise?", John Harwood , 1991 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , May no. 88 1991; (p. 19)
1 Accounts i "Lately I'm restless. No good cause:", John Harwood , 1991 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Flinders Jubilee Anthology 1991; (p. 90)
1 Siren Song i "You tried to wake me, but my hands were tied,", John Harwood , 1990 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Inner Courtyard : A South Australian Anthology of Love Poetry 1990; (p. 68)
1 Power in Reserve John Harwood , 1987 single work review
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , August no. 41 1987; (p. 20)

— Review of Rahu Sudesh Mishra , 1987 selected work poetry
1 Perspectives i "I can't give you the answer you want.", John Harwood , 1986 single work poetry
— Appears in: Poetry Australia , no. 104 1986; (p. 30)
1 Final Revision i "Your truth is stronger than my fiction. You,", John Harwood , 1985 single work poetry
— Appears in: Poems : Selected from The Australian's 20th Anniversary Competition 1985; (p. 43)
1 Labyrinth i "We defy augury, I must breathe, must sleep", John Harwood , 1984 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Bulletin (Literary Supplement) , 24 April vol. 104 no. 5413 1984; (p. 75)
1 Transformations i "No more miracle cures. I've been accosted", John Harwood , 1984 single work poetry
— Appears in: Neither Nuked Nor Crucified and Other Poems 1984; (p. 66)
1 Supply Side i "People believe I can make gold from straw.", John Harwood , 1984 single work poetry
— Appears in: Neither Nuked Nor Crucified and Other Poems 1984; (p. 65-66)
1 Doublecross i "Nobody likes a poisoner. Those dwarves", John Harwood , 1984 single work poetry
— Appears in: Neither Nuked Nor Crucified and Other Poems 1984; (p. 65)
1 Guardian i "Villages sprawl. I take the long way round,", John Harwood , 1984 single work poetry
— Appears in: Neither Nuked Nor Crucified and Other Poems 1984; (p. 64-65)
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