The Unknown Judith Wright

Book excerpt: Judith Wright (1915-2000) remains a giant figure within Australian art, culture, and politics. Her 1946 collection of poetry, The Moving Image, revolutionized Australian poetry. She helped to establish the modern Australian environmental movement and was a key player in early campaigns for Aboriginal land rights. A friend and confidante of artists, writers, scholars, activists, and policy makers, she remains an inspiration to many. And yet, as Georgina Arnott is able to show in this major new work, the biographical picture we have had of this renowned poet-activist has been very much a partial one. This book presents a more human figure than we have previously seen, and concentrates on Wright's younger years. New material allows us to hear-directly, thrillingly-the feisty voice of a young Judith Wright, and forces us to reconsider the woman we thought we knew. *** "Thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, 'The Unknown Judith Wright' is unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Literary Studies collections in general, and supplemental studies reading lists in the subject areas of: Australian History, Art, Poetry, Gender Studies, Literary Criticism, and Biographies." --Midwest Book Review, Library Bookwatch: January 2017 Subject: Australian History, Art, Poetry, Gender Studies, Literary Criticism, Biography]