Jim Williams (Di
Guglielmo) was
born near Chikkahominy in New York State, survived his multicultural
childhood and somehow managed a BS degree from Cornell University.
After a working holiday in the Bahamas he absconded to Australia aboard
an old Liberty Ship carrying agricultural machinery and arrived in
Brisbane at 7 in the morning on Currency Day. He has done everything
from
cane cutting to scientific research to donkey trekking but is perhaps
best known for his
poetry and striking resemblance to the playwright Mammad Aidani. He
lived in Byron Bay for two years and while there he wrote the letters
collected here to various friends,
acquaintances and antagonists.
Since Letters
from Byron he has returned to Victoria and now lives in Castlemaine.
Painting by David Frazer of Jim’s house in Castlemaine.