‘This island, this solitude, this rainy day, this stack of blank paper, I shall transform you, by these sorceries I have learned, into the stuff of friendship.’

Barbara Blackman has been a muse and an iconic Australian arts identity throughout her long life. This collection of essays, All My Januaries, is both insightful and memorable. Ranging from her Brisbane childhood to her marriage to renowned artist Charles Blackman, her time in London and Paris, and her life beyond, these essays capture her love of language and her acerbic wit.

Blind since her twenties, Barbara Blackman has been an artist’s model, broadcaster, poet, librettist and essayist. All My Januaries celebrates this remarkable journey as she reflects on food, travel, friendships, family and the many unexpected pleasures of life.

Foreword by Quentin Bryce, AD, CVO