The Hard Word

<p><em>The Hard Word</em> wittily reflects on the stuff of words and what can be done with them, or to them, their uses and abuses - especially on the subject of love, perhaps the hardest word of all.</p><p><br></p><p>Peter Kirkpatrick taught English and Australian literature at Western Sydney University and the University of Sydney, and has published two other collections: <em>Wish You Were Here</em> (Five Islands, 1996), and <em>Westering </em>(Puncher & Wattmann, 2006), which was shortlisted in the 2008 NSW Premier's Literary Awards. He is also the author of <em>The Sea Coast of Bohemia: Literary Life in Sydney's Roaring Twenties</em> (2nd ed. API Network, 2007) and, with Jill Dimond, <em>Literary Sydney: A Walking Guide</em> (UQP, 2000). With Fran De Groen he co-edited <em>Serious Frolic: Essays on Australian Humour</em> (UQP, 2009) and, with Robert Dixon, <em>Republics of Letters: Literary Communities in Australia</em> (Sydney University Press, 2012)</p>