Anna Kavan
Anna Kavan (born Helen Emily Woods; 10 April 1901 – 5 December 1968) was an English writer.
Anna Kavan | |
|---|---|
 Self-portrait from the 1950s | |
| Born | Helen Emily Woods 10 April 1901 Cannes, France |
| Died | 5 December 1968 (aged 67) London, England |
| Pen name |
|
| Occupation | |
| Nationality | British |
| Notable works | Ice |
| Spouse |
|
| Children | 2 |
Her early work, comprising six novels, gave little indication of the style and content of her writing after 1939. The change of her name to Anna Kavan in 1940 signalled an experimental form, focussed on the 'nocturnal language' of dreams and addiction.
I Am Lazarus is a collection of short stories that address the disturbing unreality of mental illness, particularly as a result of war-related post traumatic stress disorder.
Kavan travelled extensively during the Second World War, spending 22 months in New Zealand. That country's proximity to Antarctica informed her writing of Ice.
Kavan's biographical details have until recently been vague and sketchy, but recent discoveries of letters and unpublished manuscripts have shed revealing light on her life and times. Dr Jennifer Sturm of Auckland University has made a recent study of Kavan's writing, and has unearthed significant validation of her biographical details. Kavan is currently enjoying something of a belated interest. London publishers Peter Owen Publishers have for many years flown the Kavan flag and continue to do so, with the recent re-release of Ice and a forthcoming publication of Guilty, a new posthumous release of Kavan's work.