Talking into the Typewriter: Selected Letters (1973-1983)

(Paperback)

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'I am not a born writer but ... I get the profoundest, most passionate satisfaction from writing' Christina Stead Letter writing was a vital part of Christina Stead's creative life and it grew increasingly important in her last decade. It was how she engaged with the outside world and became the focus of her writing energies. Stead was a vivacious, funny, erudite, expansive and witty correspondent. It was a practice she enjoyed, answering all correspondence she received, including Elizabeth Harrower, Stanley Burnshaw, Dorothy Green and H C Coombs. Beginning in England in 1973, the letters in Talking into the Typewriter span her return to Australia in 1973 until her death in 1983. Politics, friends and family, literary accolades and achievements, pets and reminiscences are all dissected, canvassed and considered.

Author Bio

Christina Stead was born in Sydney in 1902, and died there in 1983. Most of her life was spent elsewhere: in London, Paris and other places in Europe, and in the United States. Her first book, The Salzburg Tales, was published in 1934, followed by twelve more works of fiction. In The Man Who Loved Children she drew on her own childhood in Sydney. She was the recipient of the inaugural Patrick White Literary Award in 1974.