David Martin (22 December 1915 – 1 July 1997), born Lajos or Ludwig Detsinyi, into a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish family in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

(then part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

), was an Australian novelist, poet, playwright, journalist, editor, literary reviewer and lecturer. He also used the names Louis Adam and Louis Destiny, adopting the name David Martin after moving to England.

Biography

Martin was born in Budapest, but educated in Germany. He left Germany in 1934, spending time in the Netherlands, Hungary and Palestine. In 1937 he travelled to Spain. where he served as a volunteer in the medical service of the

International Brigade The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existe ...

of the

Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army ( es, Ejército de la República Española) was the main branch of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la Rep� ...

during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. In 1938 Martin joined his father in London, working in his clothing factory, before moving to Glasgow in 1941 where he worked as a correspondent with the '' Daily Express''. In 1941, Martin married Elizabeth Richenda Powell, great-granddaughter of the Quaker

Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney; 21 May 1780 – 12 October 1845), sometimes referred to as Betsy Fry, was an English prison reformer, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the tr ...

. They had one son, Jan. Martin returned to London, working for the BBC until 1944. From 1945 to 1947 he was literary editor of ''

Reynold's News ''Reynold's News'' was a Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom, founded as ''Reynolds's Weekly Newspaper''Joanne Shattock, ''The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', p.2908 by George W. M. Reynolds in 1850, who became its first edito ...

''. In 1948 he travelled to India as British correspondent for the ''Daily Express''. Martin and his family settled in Australia from 1950, settling in Melbourne, where Martin commenced work as a freelance journalist and editor of the ''

Australian Jewish News ''The Australian Jewish News'' (''AJN'') is a newspaper published in Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Since 2019 it has been a local partner of ''The Times of Israel''. History The ''AJN'' is descended from ''The Hebrew Stand ...

''. He joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

in 1951, was active until 1956 and remained a member until 1959, when he was asked to resign. He had weekly current affairs columns in ''Free Press'' (1951–52) and the ''Sunday Observer'' (1969–71) and was foreign correspondent for the Indian newspaper ''Hindu'' () and for the Canadian newspaper the ''

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the domi ...

'' (). In addition, he contributed an enormous number of articles, short stories and reviews to a variety of newspapers and journals, including '' Overland'', ''

Meanjin ''Meanjin'' (), formerly ''Meanjin Papers'' and ''Meanjin Quarterly'', is an Australian literary magazine. The name is derived from the Turrbal word for the spike of land where the city of Brisbane is located. It was founded in 1940 in Brisbane ...

'', '' Southerly'' and '' Quadrant'', covering a diverse range of topics. In 1988, Martin was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

for his services to Australian literature. He also won the

Patrick White Award The Patrick White Award is an annual literary prize established by Patrick White. White used his 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature award to establish a trust for this prize. The $25,000 cash award is given to a writer who has been highly creative o ...

in 1991 and was given an Emeritus Award by the Literature Fund of the

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...

in 1996. David Martin died in

Beechworth, Victoria Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,859. Beechworth's many histor ...

, on 1 July 1997. One of his grandchildren, Toby Martin, is the guitarist and frontman of the rock band Youth Group.

Bibliography

* *''Tiger Bay'' (1946) *''The Shoes Men Walk In'' (1946) *''The Shepherd and the Hunter'' (1946) *''Birth of a Miner'' (1949) *''The Stones of Bombay'' (1950) *''From Life'' (1953) *''Rob the Robber'' (1954) *''Poems of David Martin 1938-58'' (1958) *''Spiegel the Cat'' (1961) *''The Young Wife'' (1962) *''Eight by Eight'' (1963) *''The Hero of Too'' (1965) * *''The Gift: Poems 1959-65'' (1966) *''The King Between'' (1967) *''The Idealist'' (1968) *''Where a Man Belongs'' (1969) *''On the Road to Sydney'' (1970) *''Hughie'' (1971) *''Frank and Francesca'' (1972) *''Gary'' (1972) *''The Chinese Boy'' (1973) *''The Cabby’s Daughter'' (1974) *''Katie'' (1974) *''Mister P and his Remarkable Flight'' (1975) *''The Devilish Mystery of the Flying Mum'' (1977) *''The Man in the Red Turban'' (1978) *''I’ll Take Australia'' (1978) *''The Mermaid Attack'' (1978) *''I Rhyme My Time'' (1980) *''Foreigners'' (1981) *''Peppino'' (1983) *''Armed Neutrality for Australia'' (1984) *''The Girl Who Didn't Know Kelly'' (1985) *''Fox On My Door'' (1987) *''The Kitten Who Wouldn’t Purr'' (1987) *''Clowning Sim'' (1988) *''My strange Friend: An Autobiography'' (1991) *''David Martin’s Beechworth book: poems'' (1993)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, David 1915 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Australian journalists 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian poets Australian male novelists Australian male poets Australian people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Australian people of the Spanish Civil War Communist Party of Australia members Communist poets Hungarian communists Hungarian emigrants to Australia Hungarian Jews International Brigades personnel Jewish Australian writers Meanjin people Members of the Order of Australia Patrick White Award winners