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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
An edited version of 329 letters written to Olson's wife, Ruth. His son, W. G. Olson, describes the purpose behind publishing the letters as 'to remind newer generations of Australians how the ordinary digger lived in those wartime years.' In his letters, Olson describes the sacrifices of the Australian infantry in New Guinea, the waste of war, and 'begins to question the purpose of the war, particularly that final year 1945.'
An 'Introduction' to the letters includes Olson's short story The Gods Were Kind, first published in Meanjin in 1945, and three poems. These works and W. G. Olson's Foreward [sic] are indexed separately. The individual letters have not been indexed.
Notes
-
Epigraph: Man's dying scream/ on the sword of his brother,/ is to God./ And his Mother - Man's Dying, William Robert Olson
Contents
* Contents derived from the
Sydney,
New South Wales,:Wordspec
, 1993 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
- The Gods were Kind, single work short story war literature (p. i-vi)
- At Masaweng Riveri"On the track along", single work poetry war literature (p. vii)
- On a Visit to Bomana War Cemetery, Port Moresbyi"Up the Markham", single work poetry war literature (p. vii-viii)
- Surgical Ward at Greenslopes Military Hospitali"He came from war's last gasp;", single work poetry war literature (p. viii-ix)
- Foreward [sic], single work column (p. xi-xii)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Foreward [sic]
1993
single work
column
— Appears in: The Years Away 1993; (p. xi-xii)
-
Foreward [sic]
1993
single work
column
— Appears in: The Years Away 1993; (p. xi-xii)
Last amended 16 Dec 2014 13:55:23
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