P. R. Stephensen
Encyclopedia
Percy Reginald Stephensen (20 November 1901—28 May 1965) was an Australia
n writer, publisher and political activist.
He was born in Maryborough, Queensland
. He was nicknamed "Inky", and attended the University of Queensland
. He gained a second-class honours degree in Modern Greats at Queen's College
, Oxford
where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar and also joined the university branch of the Communist Party with A. J. P. Taylor
, Graham Greene
and Tom Driberg, as an undercover agent for MI5.
His most significant work was The Foundations of Culture in Australia, which led to the foundation of the Jindyworobak Movement
.
Between the world wars, his Fellowship of Australian Writers released a document that advocated disconnection with the United States and stated, "US comics promoted demonology, witchcraft and voodooism, with superman part of a raving mad view of the world." And of American musicals and minstrel shows, "the American negro, with his jungle is not welcome here."
He was a member of the Australia First Movement
whose magazine The Publicist he edited from 1941-1942. He was noted for his anti-semitic views.
Stephensen was a prolific author. He published over 30 books, as well as translations of works by Vladimir Lenin
and Friedrich Nietzsche
. He also produced nearly 70 books ghostwritten for Frank Clune
.
He was interned without trial from 1942 to 1945 for pro-Japan
ese and Axis
sympathies.
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, publisher and political activist.
He was born in Maryborough, Queensland
Maryborough, Queensland
Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...
. He was nicknamed "Inky", and attended the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
. He gained a second-class honours degree in Modern Greats at Queen's College
The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its 18th-century architecture...
, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar and also joined the university branch of the Communist Party with A. J. P. Taylor
A. J. P. Taylor
Alan John Percivale Taylor, FBA was a British historian of the 20th century and renowned academic who became well known to millions through his popular television lectures.-Early life:...
, Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
and Tom Driberg, as an undercover agent for MI5.
His most significant work was The Foundations of Culture in Australia, which led to the foundation of the Jindyworobak Movement
Jindyworobak Movement
The Jindyworobak Movement was a nationalistic Australian literary movement whose white members sought to promote indigenous Australian ideas and customs, particularly in poetry. They were active from the 1930s to around the 1950s...
.
Between the world wars, his Fellowship of Australian Writers released a document that advocated disconnection with the United States and stated, "US comics promoted demonology, witchcraft and voodooism, with superman part of a raving mad view of the world." And of American musicals and minstrel shows, "the American negro, with his jungle is not welcome here."
He was a member of the Australia First Movement
Australia First Movement
Australia First Movement was a proto-fascist movement which grew out of the Rational Association and the Victorian Socialist Party. Adela Pankhurst Walsh, of the famous suffragette family was involved in it, along with W. J. Miles, Rhodes scholar Percy Stephensen, Xavier Herbert, as well as famous...
whose magazine The Publicist he edited from 1941-1942. He was noted for his anti-semitic views.
Stephensen was a prolific author. He published over 30 books, as well as translations of works by Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
and Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
. He also produced nearly 70 books ghostwritten for Frank Clune
Frank Clune
Francis Patrick Clune, OBE, was a best-selling Australian author, travel writer and popular historian.-Early life and career:Frank Clune was born in Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney in 1893, and grew up in Redfern...
.
He was interned without trial from 1942 to 1945 for pro-Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
ese and Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
sympathies.