Norman Lindsay letters received from R. D. Fitzgerald, Lawson Glassop, John Tierney (Brian James) and Brian Penton, 1944, 1947, 1952, 1969, undated

MLMSS 6043

fonds

1944, 1947, 1952, 1969, undated

100713

0.01 metres of textual material (1 folder) - manuscript, typescript

Norman Lindsay (1879-1969) was born in Creswick, Victoria. Primarily noted as an artist (painter, etcher, cartoonist, sculptor, illustrator and model-maker), he also wrote novels, essays, literary criticism, art appreciation and reminiscence.

R. D. Fitzgerald (1902-1987) was born at Hunters Hill, Sydney where he lived for much of his life. A surveyor by profession, he published a number of highly regarded books of poetry, winning several awards including the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry in 1959 and 1962.

Lawson Glassop (1913-1966) was born in the Blue Mountains, NSW. He was a journalist and war correspondent whose principal literary work was the World War Two novel, We were the rats.

John Tierney (1892-1972) was born in Eurunderee, NSW. A school teacher for 37 years, he wrote novels and short stories under the pen name of Brian James. Norman Lindsay regarded him as one of the greatest short story writers Australia has produced.

Brian Penton (1904-1951) was born in Brisbane where he began a long career in journalism culminating in the editorship of the Sydney Daily Telegraph. He wrote two novels as well as several books about contemporary society.

1. Three letters from R. D. Fitzgerald dated 21 October 1952, 2 June 1969 and 27 June 1969. The first one concerns the illustration by Lindsay in Fitzgerald's book Between two tides. The remaining two letters concern his strong objections to a play by Dorothy Hewett, the question of censorship and the possibility of a "puritan revival". In the last one he also talks about the Vietnam War.

2. Letter from Lawson Glassop dated 3 March 1944 concerning the delay in the publication of his novel, We were the rats.

3. Ten letters from John Tierney (Brian James), one dated 1947, the rest undated. They mostly concern literature and writers and the state of his and Lindsay's health.

4. Letter from Brian Penton undated, in which he bemoans the parlous state of Australia and the world caused by the economic depression. Australia's lack of a national culture is also a matter of concern.

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