1947 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1947.

For an overview of world literature see 1947 in literature.

See also: 1946 in Australian literature, 1947 in Australia, 1948 in Australian literature.

Events

• The Grace Leven Prize for Poetry, worth £50, is awarded for the first time to Pacific Sea by Nan McDonald.^[1]

Books

• Jon Cleary – You Can't See 'Round Corners
• Erle Cox – The Missing Angel
• M. Barnard Eldershaw – Tomorrow and Tomorrow
• Miles Franklin – The Thorny Rose
• Arthur Gask – The Dark Mill Stream
• Catherine Gaskin – With Every Year
• Ion L. Idriess – Isles of Despair
• Norman Lindsay – Halfway to Anywhere
• Vance Palmer – Cyclone
• Nevil Shute – The Chequer Board

Short stories

• Myra Morris – The Township
• Judah Waten – "To a Country Town"

Children's and Young Adult fiction

• Ruth C. Williams – Timothy Tatters

Poetry

• David Campbell – "Small-Town Gladys"
• Victor Daley – Creeve Roe : Poetry
• Rosemary Dobson – "Country Press"
• R. D. Fitzgerald – "Fifth Day"
• A. D. Hope – "Conquistador"
• Nancy Keesing – "Detective Story"
• Nan McDonald – Pacific Sea
• John Shaw Neilson – Unpublished Poems of John Shaw Neilson
• Will H. Ogilvie – "Harry Morant"
• Elizabeth Riddell – "A Train in the Night"
• Roland Robinson – "Drifting Dug-Out"
• Judith Wright
  • "The Bull"
  • "The Cycads"

Drama

• Vance Palmer – Hail Tomorrow
• Douglas Stewart – Shipwreck
• Patrick White – The Ham Funeral

Awards and honours

Note: these awards were presented in the year in question.

Literary

Children's 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 1947 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 15 January – Richard Harland, novelist
• 21 March – Terry Dowling, novelist and short story writer
• 13 April – Amanda Lohrey, novelist
• 4 May
  • Marele Day, novelist
  • Peter Kocan, author and poet
• 14 July – David Marr, journalist and biographer
• 23 September – Gary Crew, novelist
• 30 October – Gary Catalano, poet and art critic (died 2002)

Unknown date

• Eric Beach, poet and playwright
• Michael Dugan, poet (died 2006)
• Martin Johnston, novelist and poet (died 1990)
• Rhyll McMaster, novelist
• Bruce Pascoe, novelist
• Graham Rowlands, poet
• Arnold Zable, novelist

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1947 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 12 February – Douglas Sladen, poet and biographer (born 1856)
• 19 July – Lennie Lower, journalist and novelist (born 1903)
• 18 October – R. H. Croll, poet and writer (born 1869)

See also

• 1947 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature

References