I am so grateful for Inga Clendinnen’s fulsome article “The Good Soldier” (April, 2009) on WEH Stanner and An Appreciation of Difference. It captured my interest and imagination. When I went to find the book, the assistant asked me if I wanted An Appreciation … or a collection of Stanner’s own essays. I took both. I started with his essays, and I fell in love: what graceful phrases, acute observations, elegant language and challenging vocabulary. His viewpoints, wisdom and understanding were so far ahead of his time!

 I am finally dipping into An Appreciation … – surely it will take more than a month of reading? As a relative newcomer to Australia and a keen student of many aspects of this great country, I am deeply appreciative for the introduction to such a remarkable man.