James Martin Devaney (31 May 1890 – 14 August 1976) was an Australian poet, novelist, and journalist.

Biography

Born in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

, Victoria in 1890, Devaney attended St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, entering the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brother ...

juniorate in 1904. He took his vows in 1915. He moved to Queensland in 1921 after leaving the order due to contracting tuberculosis. He pursued writing and journalism. Under the pen-name 'Fabian', he contributed between 1924 and 1943 a nature column to the ''Brisbane Courier'' (renamed ''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, ...

'' after 1933). He also wrote a regular literary column for the Catholic Leader. Devaney was active in literary circles in the 1930s and 1940s. He was president of the Queensland Authors' and Artists' Association from 1944-45 (later known as the Fellowship of Australian Writers or FAW). After World War II, he returned to teaching working on pastoral stations in Victoria and Queensland.

Personal life

Devaney married Phyllis de Winton in 1924. He died in Brisbane on August 14, 1976 and was buried at Redcliffe Cemetery. Several boxes of his papers can be accessed from the Fryer Library at

The University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = Br ...

Library.

Works

* ''Fabian: Poems'', Melbourne: Lothian, 1923 * ''The Currency Lass : a Tale of the Convict Days'', Sydney: Cornstalk, 1927 * ''The Vanished Tribes'', Sydney: Cornstalk, 1929 * ''The Girl Oona, and Other Tales of the Australian Blacks'', Sydney: Cornstalk Publishing Co., 1929 * ''The Witch-Doctor, and Other Tales of the Australian Blacks'', Sydney:

Angus and Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

, 1930 * ''I-rinka the Messenger, and Other Tales of the Australian Blacks'', Sydney:

, 1930 * ''Earth Kindred'', Melbourne: Frank Wilmot, Coles Library, 1931 * ''Debutantes: a poem'', Hawthorn East, Victoria: The Hawthorn Press, (1939?) * ''Dark Road'', Hawthorn East, Victoria: Hawthorn Press, 1938, * ''Where the Wind Goes'', Sydney:

, 1939 * ''Shaw Neilson'', Sydney:

, 1944 * ''Washdirt: a novel of old Bendigo'', Melbourne: Georgian House, 1946 * ''Poems'', Sydney:

, 1950

Notes

1890 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian male writers Australian male novelists Australian male poets 20th-century Australian poets {{Australia-writer-stub