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ary degree the atmosphere of a tribal village inwhich a young man, Aruako, turns his backEndymion-like on sensual love in his pursuitof the Moon. It is notable that Miss Wrightshould depart from her familiar Australianbackground and that she should with her ownpoetic vision so successfully enter into this newworld. There are some poems here with aquaintly domestic atmosphere that perhaps donot quite do justice to her talents—poems like"To Another Housewife", "Cleaning Day" and"Portrait", but others, although comparativelyslight- like "The Trap", "A Document" andSnakeskin on a Gate", show that she has lostnothing of her technical skill or sensitivity.In short. The Other Half is a worthy successorto the volumes that have preceded it. No doubtit will be followed by others if we are to judgefrom her supplication in the final stanza of"Prayer":And you, who speak in me when I speakwell,withdraw not now your grace, leave me notdry and cold.I have praised you in the pain of love, Iwould praise you stillin the slowing of the blood, the time whenI grow old.What then is the real nature of the genius ofJudith Wright? Always she has worked withincertain specified limits. Most of her poems arequite short. She has never attempted the epicand has touched only incidentally, through therecalled past, on the heroic. Once or twice shehas been tempted towards the slightly satirical("Eve to her Daughter" in this latest volumeis an example), but not very successfully perhapsbecause this is not fundamentally part ofher nature. In the main she has blended theemotions and the intellect, and throughout hasdeveloped technical skills which, in spite ofattempts by some critics to find influences ofBlake and Yeats and T. S. Eliot, have remainedpecuharly her own. Not the least of her skillslies in the felicity of her choice of word andphrase and the ability to say a great deal invery few words. Let any who doubt this comparethe examples I have given with the languagein most other contemporary volumes ofAustralian poetry.We have seen how her first two books causedH. M. Green to classify her as a lyricist andhow her next two caused him to amend thatclassification. We have seen how early criticsapplauded her regional poetry and how somelater ones regretted her partial abandonmentof the regional for the universal. Throughouta now considerable number of volumes she hasestablished for herself an identity which doesnot easily fit into any category, but it is clearthat she is fundamentally a mystic, seekingthrough her own personal experiences to findthe true significance in all creation of Loveand the Word, which in the last analysis aresynonymous. That she gives no final answeris not the least of her virtues, since this carrieswith her a company of readers prepared to goalong with her in her quest. There are alsomany, no doubt, who are less concerned withthe quest, but equally prepared to accompanyher because of the unique quality of the poetrywhich she uses to pursue it.References:1 Meanjin, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1946, p. 249.2 Southerly, Vol. 8, No. 3, 1947, pp. 182-3.3 Modern Australian Poetry, ed. by H. M. Green.Introduction to 2nd edition, p. vi.4 A History of Australian Literature, by H. M. Green(1961), Vol. 2, 1923-1950, p. 943.5 Southerly, Vol. 16, No. 1, 1955, p. 35.6 Meanjin, Vol. 17, No. 3, 1958, p. 247.7 Southerly, Vol. 17, No. 2, 1956, p. 99.8 Meanjin, Vol. 15, No. 2, 1956, pp. 202-3.9 A History of Australian Literature, by H. M. Green(1961), Vol. 2, 1923-1950, p. 937.10 Ibid. p. 1402.11 The Australian Book Review, Vol. 2, No. 6, p. 90.i2 Jindyworobak Review (1948), pp. 72-3.13 Ibid. p. 73.14 See note 6, above.15 See note 5, above.16 The Literature of Australia, ed. by Geoflfrey Dutton(1964), p. 361.17 See note 4, above.WESTERLY, No. 1, MARCH, 1968 51