“As it Was gathers the past as if it were today with poetry speaking for the ‘silent voices’ of so many lost to the holocaust with its horrific reverberations. In some parts, a clarion call, a whispered lullaby, a mother’s grief, a lover’s loss and, at its core, a survivor’s guilt and a survivor’s peace. These are poems brimming with a life that has dared not only to endure, but to honour and cherish family, community and the wider world.” Angela Costi

Now in her 104th year, As it Was draws together Anna Sput-Stern’s lifetime work of poetry. The collection showcases her development as a poet and a person as she explores the aftermath of World War II, love and hate, the pain of loss, the joy of growth of a family and misery that comes with the feelings of ‘who am I and where do I belong?’

Anna was born in Poland in 1921. She survived the Holocaust and migrated to Australia in 1948. She has come to understand her experiences and has found solace in the life she lives through her poetry and writing.