This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1939.

Events

The Queenslander ''The Queenslander'' was the weekly summary and literary edition of the '' Brisbane Courier'', the leading journal in the colony—and later, federal state—of Queensland since the 1850s. ''The Queenslander'' was launched by the Brisbane New ...

'' ceases publication after the last edition on February 22 1939. The magazine was first published on February 3 1866 by

Thomas Blacket Stephens Thomas Blacket Stephens (5 January 1819 – 26 August 1877) was a wealthy Brisbane businessman and newspaper proprietor who also served as an alderman and mayor of Brisbane Municipal Council,Brisbane City Council Archives a Member of the Legis ...

in Brisbane and published serialised novels, poems and short stories by many Australian writers.

Books

Erle Cox Erle Cox (15 August 1873 – 20 November 1950) was an Australian journalist and science fiction writer. Life Cox was born at Emerald Hill, Victoria, on 15 August 1873, the second son of Ross Cox, who had emigrated from his native Dublin as ...

– ''Fool's Harvest'' * Miles Franklin and Dymphna Cusack – '' Pioneers on Parade'' *

Arthur Gask Arthur Cecil Gask (10 July 1869 – 25 June 1951) was an English dentist and novelist. He is one of the earliest authors of Australian-based crime fiction. Early life Gask was born on 10 July 1869 at St Marylebone, London, fourth of five childre ...

** ''The Fall of a Dictator'' ** ''The Vengeance of Larose'' *

Michael Innes John Innes Mackintosh Stewart (30 September 1906 – 12 November 1994) was a Scottish novelist and academic. He is equally well known for the works of literary criticism and contemporary novels published under his real name and for the cri ...

– ''Stop Press'' *

Will Lawson Will Lawson (2 September 1876 – 13 October 1957), born in Durham, England, was a popular bush poet, novelist, journalist and historian of Australia. Many of his works had sailing or stage coach themes. Early life Born at Gateshead, Durh ...

– ''In Ben Boyd's Day'' *

Jack Lindsay Jack Lindsay (20 October 1900 – 8 March 1990) was an Australian-born writer, who from 1926 lived in the United Kingdom, initially in Essex. He was born in Melbourne, but spent his formative years in Brisbane. He was the eldest son of Norman L ...

– ''Lost Birthright'' * Myra Morris – ''Dark Tumult'' *

Henry Handel Richardson Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson (3 January 187020 March 1946), known by her pen name Henry Handel Richardson, was an Australian author. Life Born in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, into a prosperous family that later fell on hard tim ...

– '' The Young Cosima'' *

Alice Grant Rosman Alice Grant Rosman (18 July 1882 — 20 August 1961) (born Alice Trevenen Rosman) was an Australian novelist. Writing career Alice Rosman was born in Kapunda, South Australia. She had one sister called Mary and the two girls attended St Mary's ...

– ''William's Room'' * Nevil Shute – ''

What Happened to the Corbetts ''What Happened to the Corbetts'' (US title: ''Ordeal'') is a novel by Nevil Shute, a fictional depiction of the effect of aerial bombing on the British city of Southampton, a major maritime centre. It was written in 1938, and published in April ...

'' (aka ''Ordeal'') *

Kylie Tennant Kathleen Kylie Tennant AO (; 12 March 1912 – 28 February 1988) was an Australian novelist, playwright, short-story writer, critic, biographer, and historian. Early life and career Tennant was born in Manly, New South Wales; she was educate ...

– ''Foveaux'' *

E. V. Timms Edward Vivian Timms (1895–1960), better known as E. V. Timms, was an Australian novelist and screenwriter. He was injured serving in the Gallipoli Campaign during World War I and was an unsuccessful soldier settler before turning to writing. ...

– '' Dark Interlude'' *

Arthur Upfield Arthur William Upfield (1 September 1890 – 12 February 1964) was an English-Australian writer, best known for his works of detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte of the Queensland Police Force, a mixed-race ...

– '' The Mystery of Swordfish Reef'' *

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was a British-born Australian writer who published 12 novels, three short-story collections, and eight plays, from 1935 to 1987. White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, ...

– '' Happy Valley''

Short stories

* Katharine Susannah Prichard ** "The Flight" ** "Painted Finches" *

Dal Stivens Dallas George "Dal" Stivens (31 December 1911 – 15 June 1997) was an Australian writer who produced six novels and eight collections of short stories between 1936, when ''The Tramp and Other Stories'' was published, and 1976, when his last colle ...

– "Solemn Mass"

Children's

* Mary Grant Bruce – ''Son of Billabong'' *

Connie Christie Connie Christie (31 January 1908 – 3 June 1989) was an English-born Australian artist who wrote and illustrated books for children. By 1950 sales of her books were reported to have reached one million or two million copies. Career Christie ...

– ''The Adventures of Pinkishell'' *

Dorothy Wall Dorothy Wall (12 January 1894 – 21 January 1942) was a New Zealand-born writer and illustrator of children's fiction books. She is most famous for creating Blinky Bill, an anthropomorphic koala who was the central character in her books ''B ...

– ''The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill''

Poetry

* Mary Gilmore – ''

Battlefields A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...

'' *

A. D. Hope Alec Derwent Hope (21 July 190713 July 2000) was an Australian poet and essayist known for his satirical slant. He was also a critic, teacher and academic. He was referred to in an American journal as "the 20th century's greatest 18th-centur ...

– "Australia" * Hugh McCrae – ''Poems'' *

Furnley Maurice Frank Leslie Thomson Wilmot (6 April 1881 – 22 February 1942), who published his work under the pseudonym Furnley Maurice, was a noted Australian poet, best known for ''To God: From the Warring Nations'' (1917). Early life Wilmot was a son of H ...

– "Whenever I Have..." * Kenneth Slessor ** "

Five Bells "Five Bells" (1939) is a meditative poem by Australian poet Kenneth Slessor. It was originally published as the title poem in the author's collection ''Five Bells : XX Poems'', and later appeared in numerous poetry anthologies. Outline The po ...

" ** ''Five Bells : XX Poems'' ** "South Country" * Brian Vrepont – "The Miracle"

Drama

* Sumner Locke Elliott ** '' The Cow Jumped Over the Moon'' ** '' Interval''

Awards and honours

Literary

Poetry

Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1939 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death. * 4 January –

J. S. Harry J. S. Harry or Jan Harry (4 January 1939 – 20 May 2015) was an Australian poet described as "one of Australian poetry’s keenest satirists, political and social commentators, and perhaps its most ethical agent and antagonist." J. S. Harry was ...

, poet (died

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

) * 29 January – Germaine Greer, theorist, academic and journalist * 25 February –

Gerald Murnane Gerald Murnane (born 25 February 1939) is an Australian writer, perhaps best known for his novel ''The Plains'' (1982). ''The New York Times'', in a big feature published on 27 March 2018, called him "the greatest living English-language writer ...

, novelist * 12 July – Phillip Adams, broadcaster and journalist * 22 August – Peter Steele, poet (died

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

) * 6 September –

Barbara Hanrahan Barbara Janice Hanrahan (1939–1991) was an Australian artist, printmaker and writer whose work featured relationships, women, women's issues and feminist ideology. Hanrahan was also known for her writings and short stories featuring coming of ...

, writer (died

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

) * 7 October –

Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

) * 9 October –

John Pilger John Richard Pilger (; born 9 October 1939) is an Australian journalist, writer, scholar, and documentary filmmaker. He has been mainly based in Britain since 1962. He was also once visiting professor at Cornell University in New York. Pilger ...

, journalist, writer and documentary filmmaker * 13 October – Suzanne Edgar, poet, short story writer and historian * 14 December – John Baxter, novelist and biographer * 30 December –

Glenda Adams Glenda Emilie Adams (née Felton; 30 December 1939 – 11 July 2007) was an Australian novelist and short story writer, probably best known as the winner of the 1987 Miles Franklin Award for ''Dancing on Coral''. She was a teacher of creative w ...

, novelist (died

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

)

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

) of deaths in 1939 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth. * 3 May – Hilary Lofting, novelist, travel writer, journalist and editor (born

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The C ...

) * 4 November —

Amy Mack Amy Eleanor Mack (6 June 1876, Port Adelaide – 4 November 1939, Sydney), also known as Amy Eleanor Harrison and Mrs. Launcelot Harrison, was an Australian writer, journalist, and editor. She was honorary secretary of the National Council of W ...

, writer, journalist and editor (born

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...

) * 19 December –

Edward Sorenson Edward Sylvester Sorenson (24 September 1869 − 19 December 1939), was an Australian writer and poet. Sorenson was born on 24 September 1869 at Dyraaba, New South Wales, north-west of Casino, a son of Jacob Sorenson and his wife, Mary Ann, n ...

, poet (born

1869 Events January–March * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 – E ...

)

References

{{Years in Australian literature

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Australian literature by year 20th-century Australian literature

Events

Books

Short stories

Children's

Poetry

Drama

Awards and honours

Literary

Poetry

Births

Deaths

See also

References