Alan Marshall
Encyclopedia
Alan Marshall was an Australia
n writer
, story teller and social documenter.
His best known book, I Can Jump Puddles (1955) is the first of a three-part autobiography. The other two books are This is the Grass (1962) and In Mine Own Heart (1963).
When Alan Marshall was six years old he contracted polio leaving him with a physical disability that grew worse as he grew older. From an early age, he resolved to be a writer, and in I Can Jump Puddles he demonstrated an almost total recall of his childhood in Noorat
. The characters and places of his book are thinly disguised from real life: Mount Turalla is Mount Noorat
, Lake Turalla is Lake Keilambete, the Curruthers are the Blacks, and his best friend, Joe from the books, is Leo Carmody.
Australian poet and contemporary, Hal Porter
wrote in 1965 that Alan Marshall is:
Alan Marshall wrote numerous short stories, mainly set in the bush. He also wrote newspaper columns and magazine articles. He travelled widely in Australia and overseas. He also collected and published Indigenous Australian stories and legends.
produced a nine part mini-series of Marshall's autobiographical stories. The actor, Adam Garnett, won the 1982 Logie Awards
for Best Performance by a Juvenile, for his role as Alan Marshall in the series.
, where Marshall had lived for many years, established the annual Alan Marshall Short Story Competition for emergent writers.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, story teller and social documenter.
His best known book, I Can Jump Puddles (1955) is the first of a three-part autobiography. The other two books are This is the Grass (1962) and In Mine Own Heart (1963).
When Alan Marshall was six years old he contracted polio leaving him with a physical disability that grew worse as he grew older. From an early age, he resolved to be a writer, and in I Can Jump Puddles he demonstrated an almost total recall of his childhood in Noorat
Noorat, Victoria
Noorat is a small town in southwestern Victoria, Australia. Noorat is located approximately 240km west of Melbourne. The township is located at the base of Mount Noorat, a dormant volcano, which is considered to have Australia's largest dry crater...
. The characters and places of his book are thinly disguised from real life: Mount Turalla is Mount Noorat
Mount Noorat
Mount Noorat is an extinct volcano, situated on Glenormiston Road north of the township of Noorat, and approximately six kilometres north of Terang, Victoria, Australia...
, Lake Turalla is Lake Keilambete, the Curruthers are the Blacks, and his best friend, Joe from the books, is Leo Carmody.
Australian poet and contemporary, Hal Porter
Hal Porter
Harold Edward Porter was an Australian novelist, playwright, poet and short-story writer.Porter was born in Albert Park, Victoria, grew up in Bairnsdale, Victoria and worked as a journalist, teacher and librarian. A car accident just before the outbreak of war prevented him from serving in World...
wrote in 1965 that Alan Marshall is:
... the warmest and most centralized human being ... To walk with ease and nonchalance the straight, straight line between appearing tragic and appearing willfully brave is a feat so complex I should not like to have to rake in the dark for the super-bravery to accomplish it.
Alan Marshall wrote numerous short stories, mainly set in the bush. He also wrote newspaper columns and magazine articles. He travelled widely in Australia and overseas. He also collected and published Indigenous Australian stories and legends.
Television series
In 1981 the Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
produced a nine part mini-series of Marshall's autobiographical stories. The actor, Adam Garnett, won the 1982 Logie Awards
Logie Awards of 1982
The 24th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Friday 12 March 1982 at the Hilton Hotel in Melbourne. Bert Newton was the Master of Ceremonies. Australian-born film star Rod Taylor, Swedish actress Britt Ekland and American television actors Cindy Williams, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Urich,...
for Best Performance by a Juvenile, for his role as Alan Marshall in the series.
Recognition
In 1985 the Shire of ElthamShire of Eltham
The Shire of Eltham was a Local Government Area located about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1856 until 1994.-History:...
, where Marshall had lived for many years, established the annual Alan Marshall Short Story Competition for emergent writers.
Autobiography
- I Can Jump Puddles. Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire, 1955.
- This is the Grass. Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire, 1962. ISBN 058525654X
- In Mine Own Heart. Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire, 1963.
Collections
- Aboriginal Myths, with Sreten Bozic. Melbourne: Gold Star Publications, 1972. ISBN 0-7260-0113-9
- Pull Down The Blind, with illustrations by Noel Counihan. Melbourne: F. W. Cheshire & London: Wadley & Ginn, 1949
Fiction
- How Beautiful Are Thy Feet. Melbourne: Chesterhill Press, 1949. ISBN 0-14-005241-0
Children's Fiction
- Whispering in the Wind. Thomas Nelson (Australia) Ltd, 1969. ISBN 0006705006