Objects of Substance- Gwen Harwood Poem - Reflecting Literary Legacies

In the 1975 magazine Harwood wrote from Tasmania to celebrate the life of her teacher Miss Lexie Macmillan - another woman of substance whose memory endures through the annual awarding of the Mary Alexis Macmillan Prize For Lyric And Poetry.

1975 School Magazine

The poem's title: ‘Seasons, To the Memory of Lexi Macmillan’ gestures towards the great respect Gwen Harwood felt for the teacher who instilled her love of literature. Harwood provides a genial recollection of her time at school when she sat "among the mango trees eating crab sandwiches." While mango trees have given way to younger flora, and chicken nuggets are now the lunch of choice, Harwood’s depiction of her teacher’s affectionate advice that “your life lacks balance - wholeness is key” is still mirrored today. Girls Grammar has always encouraged the development of the whole person—the academic, the sporting, the creative, the giving—through support and passion. The warmth in the elegy also reflects the connection that many Grammar Girls feel long after they move beyond the white picket fence.

Interestingly, the publication of Harwood’s poem in the 1975 magazine also includes a picture of