1938 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1938.

Books

• Martin Boyd – Night of the Party
• Eleanor Dark – Waterway^[1]
• Arthur Gask – The Fall of a Dictator
• Xavier Herbert – Capricornia
• Michael Innes – Lament for a Maker
• Norman Lindsay – Age of Consent
• Alice Grant Rosman – Unfamiliar Faces^[2]
• Nevil Shute – Ruined City
• Christina Stead – House of All Nations
• E. V. Timms – Maelstrom
• Arthur Upfield – The Bone is Pointed

Short stories

• Alan Marshall – "Clarkey's Dead"^[3]
• Katharine Susannah Prichard – "Marlene"^[4]

Poetry

Main article: 1938 in poetry

• R. D. FitzGerald – Moonlight Acre
• A. D. Hope – "Standardisation"^[5]
• Jack Lindsay – "On Guard for Spain"^[6]
• Jack Moses – Nine Miles from Gundagai^[7]
• John Shaw Neilson
  • Beauty Imposes : Some Recent Verse^[8]
  • "The Crane is My Neighbour"

Awards and honours

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
ALS Gold Medal^[9]	R. D. FitzGerald	Moonlight Acre	Melbourne University Press

Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1938 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 10 March – Tony Morphett, scriptwriter (died 2018)^[10]
• 28 July – Robert Hughes, critic (died 2012)^[11]
• 21 August – Mudrooroo, novelist, poet and playwright (died 2019)^[12]
• 17 October – Les Murray, poet (died 2019)^[13]
• 30 October – Morris Lurie, novelist (died 2014)^[14]
• 21 December – Frank Moorhouse, novelist (died 2022)^[15]

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1938 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 21 January – Will Dyson, poet and artist (born 1880)^[16]
• 7 February – Constance Le Plastrier, writer, schoolteacher and botanist (born 1864)^[17]
• 22 June – C. J. Dennis, poet (born 1876)^[18]
• 29 November — John Sandes, poet, journalist and author (born 1863)^[19]

See also

• 1938 in Australia
• 1938 in literature
• 1938 in poetry
• List of years in Australian literature
• List of years in literature

References

1. "Austlit — Waterway by Eleanor Dark". Austlit. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
2. "Austlit — Unfamiliar Faces by Alice Grant Rosman". Austlit. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
3. "Austlit — "Clarkey's Dead" by Alan Marshall". Austlit. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
4. "Austlit — "Marlene" by Katharine Susannah Prichard". Austlit. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
5. "Austlit — "Standardisation" by A. D. Hope". Austlit. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
6. "Austlit — "On Guard for Spain" by Jack Lindsay". Austlit. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
7. "Austlit — Nine Miles from Gundagai by Jack Moses". Austlit. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
8. "Austlit — Beauty Imposes : Some Recent Verse by John Shaw Neilson". Austlit. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
9. "Literary Gold Medal : Award to Mr. R. D. Fitzgerald" The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 February 1940, p16
10. "Tony Morphett". Austlit. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
11. "Robert Hughes". Austlit. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
12. "Mudrooroo". Austlit. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
13. "Les Murray". Austlit. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
14. "Morris Lurie". Austlit. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
15. "Frank Moorhouse". Austlit. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
16. "Will Dyson : Death of Famous Cartoonist" The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 January 1938, p14
17. "Constance Le Plastrier". Austlit. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
18. "Dennis, Clarence Michael James (1876–1938) by Ian F. McLaren". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
19. "Sandes, John (1863–1938) by Ken Stewart". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 10 August 2023.