ABSTRACT
I begin by showing how a multiplicity of words preceded Warner and Ackland’s physical and emotional union, and in doing so set the stage for my exploration of the complex personal and textual exchanges between them. I also begin my account of Warner and Ackland’s poetry with a discussion of the jointly authored collection, Whether a Dove or Seagull. The first passionate encounter between Warner and Ackland not only sealed their union but also found its way into Warner’s fiction. Describing this transition from life to literature, initiates my examination of the relationship between Warner’s life-writing texts and her fiction with a consideration of her novel Summer Will Show and a short story ‘A Love Match’.
