This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1971.

Major publications

Books

Jon Cleary Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...

– '' Mask of the Andes'' *

Kenneth Cook Kenneth Bernard Cook (5 May 1929 – 18 April 1987) was an Australian journalist, television documentary maker, and novelist best known for his works ''Wake in Fright (novel), Wake in Fright'', which is still in print five decades after its first ...

– ''Piper in the Market-Place'' *

Dymphna Cusack Ellen Dymphna Cusack AM (21 September 1902 – 19 October 1981) was an Australian writer and playwright. Personal life Born in Wyalong, New South Wales, Cusack was educated at Saint Ursula's College, Armidale, New South Wales and graduated f ...

– '' A Bough in Hell'' *

Frank Hardy Francis Joseph Hardy (21 March 1917 – 28 January 1994), published as Frank J. Hardy and also under the pseudonym Ross Franklyn, was an Australian novelist and writer. He is best known for his 1950 novel ''Power Without Glory'', and for his ...

– ''The Outcasts of Foolgarah'' *

Donald Horne Donald Richmond Horne (26 December 1921 – 8 September 2005) was an Australian journalist, writer, social critic, and academic who became one of Australia's best known public intellectuals, from the 1960s until his death. Horne was a proli ...

– ''But What If There Are No Pelicans?'' * David Ireland – ''

The Unknown Industrial Prisoner ''The Unknown Industrial Prisoner'' (1971) is a Miles Franklin Award-winning novel by Australian author David Ireland (author), David Ireland. In 1978 a film version was planned, to be produced by Richard Mason (film producer), Richard Mason and ...

'' * George Johnston – ''

A Cartload of Clay ''A Cartload of Clay'' (1971) is the last and unfinished novel by the Australian author George Johnston. It is a sequel to ''My Brother Jack'' and ''Clean Straw for Nothing'', the third in the Meredith trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels b ...

'' *

Thomas Keneally Thomas Michael Keneally, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his non-fiction novel ''Schindler's Ark'', the story of Oskar Schindler's rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, wh ...

– '' A Dutiful Daughter'' *

Hal Porter Harold Edward "Hal" Porter (16 February 1911 – 29 September 1984) was an Australian novelist, playwright, poet and short story writer. Biography Porter was born in Albert Park, Victoria, grew up in Bairnsdale, and worked as a journalist, te ...

– ''The Right Thing'' *

Judah Waten Judah Leon Waten Member of the Order of Australia, AM (29 July 191129 July 1985) was an Australian novelist who was at one time seen as the voice of Australian migrant writing. Life and career Born in Odessa to a History of the Jews in Russia ...

– ''So Far No Further'' *

Morris West Morris Langlo West (26 April 19169 October 1999) was an Australian novelist and playwright, best known for his novels '' The Devil's Advocate'' (1959), ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (1963) and ''The Clowns of God'' (1981). His books were publ ...

– '' Summer of the Red Wolf''

Short stories

Elizabeth Jolley Monica Elizabeth Jolley AO (4 June 1923 – 13 February 2007) was an English-born Australian writer who settled in Western Australia in the late 1950s and forged an illustrious literary career there. She was 53 when her first book was publishe ...

– "Bill Sprockett's Land" *

** "Brett" ** ''Selected Stories''

Children's and Young Adult fiction

* Hesba Brinsmead – ''Longtime Passing'' *

David Martin David or Dave Martin may refer to: Entertainment *David Martin (artist) (1737–1797), Scottish painter and engraver *David Stone Martin (1913–1992), American artist *David Martin (poet) (1915–1997), Hungarian-Australian poet and novelist *Dav ...

– ''Hughie'' *

Christobel Mattingley Christobel Rosemary Mattingley (1931 – 1 June 2019) was an award-winning Australian author of books for children and adults. Her book ''Rummage'' won the Children's Book of the Year Award: Younger Readers and Children's Book of the Year Aw ...

– ''Windmill at Magpie Creek'' *

Elyne Mitchell Elyne Mitchell, Order of Australia, OAM (née Chauvel, 30 December 1913 – 4 March 2002) was an Australian author noted for the ''Silver Brumby'' series of children's novels. Her nonfiction works draw on family history and culture. Biography S ...

– ''Light Horse to Damascus'' *

Ivan Southall Ivan Francis Southall AM, DFC (8 June 192115 November 2008) was an Australian writer best known for young adult fiction. He wrote more than 30 children's books, six books for adults, and at least ten works of history, biography or other non-fi ...

– ''

Josh Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J * "Josh", an early pseudonym of S ...

'' *

P. L. Travers Pamela Lyndon Travers (; born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 April 1996) was an Australian-British writer who spent most of her career in England. She is best known for the ''Mary Poppins'' series of books, which feature the eponymous ...

– ''Friend Monkey''

Science fiction and fantasy

* John Baxter – ''The Second Pacific Book of Science Fiction'' *

A. Bertram Chandler Arthur Bertram Chandler (28 March 1912 in Aldershot, Hampshire, England – 6 June 1984 in Sydney, Australia) was an Anglo-Australian merchant marine officer, sailing the world in everything from tramp steamers to troop ships, but who later tur ...

** ''Alternate Orbits'' ** ''To Prime the Pump'' * Lindsay Gutteridge – ''Cold War in a Country Garden'' *

Lee Harding Lee Harding (born 8 June 1983) is an Australian singer from Frankston, Victoria. He is best known for placing third in the third season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2005. Career Bedrock Prior to competing in ''Australian Idol'', Harding was a me ...

– "Fallen Spaceman" *

Jack Wodhams Jack Wodhams (1931 – 2017) was an English-born science fiction writer who lived in Australia from 1955 until his death. He also wrote as Trudy Rose and Caroline Edwards. Wodhams was born on 3 September 1931 in Dagenham, London and died on 3 Au ...

– ''The Authentic Touch''

Poetry

* Robert Adamson – ''The Rumour'' *

Bruce Dawe Donald Bruce Dawe (15 February 1930 – 1 April 2020) was an Australian poet and academic. Some critics consider him one of the most influential Australian poets of all time.

– ''Condolences of the Season : Selected Poems'' *

Gwen Harwood Gwen Harwood (née Gwendoline Nessie Foster, 8 June 19205 December 1995) was an Australian poet and librettist. Harwood is regarded as one of Australia's finest poets, publishing over 420 works, including 386 poems and 13 librettos. She won nu ...

– "Oyster Cove" *

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 ...

– "Inscription for a War" *

James McAuley James Phillip McAuley (12 October 1917 – 15 October 1976) was an Australian academic, poet, journalist, Australian literature, literary critic and a prominent convert to Roman Catholicism. He was involved in the Ern Malley poetry hoax. Life ...

– ''Collected Poems 1936-1970'' *

Dorothea Mackellar Isobel Marion Dorothea Mackellar, (1 July 1885 – 14 January 1968) was an Australian poet and fiction writer. Her poem ''My Country'' is widely known in Australia, especially its second stanza, which begins: "''I love a sunburnt country/ ...

– ''The Poems of Dorothea Mackellar'' *

Geoff Page Geoffrey Donald Page (born 7 July 1940) is an Australian poet, translator, teacher and jazz enthusiast. He has published 22 collections of poetry, as well as prose and verse novels. Poetry and jazz are his driving interests, and he has also writ ...

– "Smalltown Memorials" *

David Rowbotham David Harold Rowbotham (27 August 1924 – 6 October 2010) was an Australian poet and journalist. Early life Rowbotham was born in the Darling Downs of Queensland, in the city of Toowoomba. He attended Toowoomba Grammar School and studied at ...

– ''The Pen of Feathers : Poems'' * T. G. H. Strehlow – ''Songs of Central Australia'' (edited) *

Chris Wallace-Crabbe Christopher Keith Wallace-Crabbe (born 6 May 1934) is an Australian poet and emeritus professor in the Australian Centre, University of Melbourne. Life and career Wallace-Crabbe was born in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond. His father was Ken ...

** "Other People" ** ''Where the Wind Came : poems'' *

Judith Wright Judith Arundell Wright (31 May 191525 June 2000) was an Australian poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award. Biography Judith Wright was born in Armidale, New Sou ...

– ''Collected Poems, 1942-1970''

Drama

Alex Buzo Alexander John Buzo (23 July 194416 August 2006) was an Australian playwright and author who wrote 88 works. His literary works recorded Australian culture through wit, humour and extensive use of colloquial Australian English. Biography Ear ...

– ''Macquarie : A Play'' *

Dorothy Hewett Dorothy Coade Hewett (21 May 1923 – 25 August 2002) was an Australian playwright, poet and author, and a romantic feminist icon. In writing and in her life, Hewett was an experimenter. As her circumstances and beliefs changed, she progressed ...

The Chapel Perilous ''The Chapel Perilous'', Dorothy Hewett's third full-length play, was written in 1970. The play is Expressionist in style, where the theatrical spectacle dominates the plot. It introduces Sally Banner, a picaresque heroine moving without succes ...

Ray Lawler Raymond Evenor Lawler (born 23 May 1921) is an Australian actor, dramatist, and theatre producer and director. His most notable play was his tenth, ''Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' (1953), which had its premiere in Melbourne in 1955. The p ...

– ''The Man Who Shot the Albatross'' *

David Williamson David Keith Williamson Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 24 February 1942) is an Australians, Australian dramatist and playwright. He has also written screenplays and teleplays. Early life David Williamson was born in Melbourne, Vi ...

** ''

Don's Party ''Don's Party'' is a 1971 play by David Williamson set during the 1969 Australian federal election. The play opened on 11 August 1971 at The Pram Factory theatre in Carlton. Plot Don Henderson is a schoolteacher living with his wife Kath and ba ...

'' ** ''

The Removalists ''The Removalists'' is a play written by Australian playwright David Williamson in 1971. The main issues the play addresses are violence, specifically domestic violence, and the abuse of power and authority. The story is supposed to be a microc ...

Awards and honours

Literary

Children and Young Adult

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 1971 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death. *18 November – Leigh Redhead, novelist Unknown date * Libby Hart, poet * James Ley, literary critic and founder of the ''

Sydney Review of Books The ''Sydney Review of Books'' is an online literary magazine established in 2013. According to the journal's editor James Ley it was created to address shortcomings in Australian book reviews. Awards In 2019 SRB contributor Fiona Kelly McGr ...

'' *

John Mateer John Mateer (born 1971) is a South African-born Australian poet and author. Early life and education He was born in Roodepoort, South Africa in 1971, and grew up on the outskirts of Johannesburg. He spent some of his childhood in Canada, before ...

, poet and author (in South Africa)

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 1971 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth. * 3 February –

Richard Harry Graves Richard Harry Graves (17 July 1897 – 3 February 1971) was an Irish-born Australian poet and novelist. He was born in Waterford, the home city of his father, Christen Gerald Graves. His father emigrated to Australia in 1909 and Richard followe ...

, poet and novelist (born

1897 Events January–March * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puniti ...

) * 11 March —

Frank Clune Francis Patrick Clune, OBE, (27 November 189311 March 1971) was a best-selling Australian writer, travel writer and popular historian. Early life and career Clune was born in Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney in 1893, and grew up in Redf ...

, novelist and travel writer (born

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

) * 10 June —

Maysie Coucher Greig Maysie Coucher Greig (pen names, Jennifer Ames, Ann Barclay, and Mary Douglas Warren; 2 August 1901 – 10 June 1971) was an Australian writer of romantic novels and thrillers. In the 1930s, she wrote under the names Jennifer Ames, Ann Barclay an ...

, writer of romantic novels and thrillers (born

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

) * 30 June –

Kenneth Slessor Kenneth Adolphe Slessor (27 March 190130 June 1971) was an Australian poet, journalist and official war correspondent in World War II. He was one of Australia's leading poets, notable particularly for the absorption of modernist influences int ...

, poet (born

) * 11 September – Hilda Bridges, novelist and short story writer (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 ...

) * 7 November – Minnie Agnes Filson, poet (born

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

) Unknown date * G. C. Bleeck – novelist (born

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1971 in Australian literature Australian literature by year 20th-century Australian literature 1971 in literature

Major publications

Books

Short stories

Children's and Young Adult fiction

Science fiction and fantasy

Poetry

Drama

Awards and honours

Literary

Children and Young Adult

Poetry

Births

Deaths

See also

References