Peter Cowan (writer)
Encyclopedia
Peter Cowan was a Western Australian writer, noted especially for his short stories.
, Peter Walkinshaw Cowan was the son of Norman Walkinshaw Cowan and Marie Emily Johnston. His grandmother was Australia's first female parliamentarian, Edith Dircksey Cowan
. He was descended from several Western Australian pioneering families, including the Browns of York, the Cowans and the Wittenooms.
After leaving Wesley College, Perth
in 1930, Cowan worked in insurance and as a farm labourer before completing his matriculation at Perth Technical College and subsequently entering the University of Western Australia
in 1938. After completing his teaching qualifications, he worked as a teacher at Wesley College
.
He married Edie Howard and they had a son, Julian. The family moved to Melbourne in 1943 while Cowan was serving in the RAAF. While in Melbourne, he became involved in the Angry Penguins
modernist literary movement.
After the war, Peter Cowan returned to Perth and taught English and Geography for many years at Scotch College
. In 1964, he became a Senior Tutor in English at the University of Western Australia
, and later an Honorary Research Fellow after his retirement.
His first published work was a short story, “Living”, published in Angry Penguins
in 1943. Over the next twenty years he continued to publish short stories.
He received a Commonwealth Literary Fund Fellowship in 1963 to write his first novel, Summer. His other novels included Seed (1966), The Color of the Sky (1986) and The Hills of Apollo Bay (1989).
In later years he was particularly active in recording his family’s pioneering history in Western Australia
. He wrote a biography of his grandmother Edith Dircksey Cowan
, entitled A Unique Position (1978), and a biography of her uncle Maitland Brown
(1988), as well as editing the letters of Eliza and Thomas Brown
(A Faithful Picture, 1977), and the diary and reports of Walkinshaw Cowan (A Colonial Experience, 1978).
For many years he was co-editor of the literary journal Westerly
and wrote many articles and reviews for it.
His manuscripts and his extensive Australiana book collection are held in the Scholars’ Centre of the University of Western Australia Library
.
In 1987, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and in 1992 he received the Patrick White Award for an Australian Writer of Great Distinction.
Edith Cowan University
conferred its first Honorary Degree (Doctor of Philosophy) on Peter Cowan in 1995. In 1997 the Peter Cowan Writers’ Centre was established at the Joondalup Campus of Edith Cowan University
, based in the reconstructed house of his grandmother.
He was named one of Western Australia’s Living Treasures in 1999, and was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to literature through writing.
Biography
Born in 1914 in South PerthSouth Perth, Western Australia
South Perth is a residential suburb 3 kilometres south of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, which adjoins the southern shore of Perth Water on the Swan River...
, Peter Walkinshaw Cowan was the son of Norman Walkinshaw Cowan and Marie Emily Johnston. His grandmother was Australia's first female parliamentarian, Edith Dircksey Cowan
Edith Cowan
Edith Dircksey Cowan , MBE was an Australian politician, social campaigner and the first woman elected to an Australian parliament....
. He was descended from several Western Australian pioneering families, including the Browns of York, the Cowans and the Wittenooms.
After leaving Wesley College, Perth
Wesley College, Perth
Wesley College, informally known as Wesley, is an independent, day and boarding school for boys and girls , situated in South Perth, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia....
in 1930, Cowan worked in insurance and as a farm labourer before completing his matriculation at Perth Technical College and subsequently entering the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
in 1938. After completing his teaching qualifications, he worked as a teacher at Wesley College
Wesley College, Perth
Wesley College, informally known as Wesley, is an independent, day and boarding school for boys and girls , situated in South Perth, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia....
.
He married Edie Howard and they had a son, Julian. The family moved to Melbourne in 1943 while Cowan was serving in the RAAF. While in Melbourne, he became involved in the Angry Penguins
Angry Penguins
Angry Penguins was an Australian literary and artistic avant-garde movement of the 1940s. The movement was stimulated by a modernist magazine of the same name published by the surrealist poet Max Harris, who founded the magazine in 1940, at the age of 18....
modernist literary movement.
After the war, Peter Cowan returned to Perth and taught English and Geography for many years at Scotch College
Scotch College, Perth
Scotch College , is one of Australia's leading independent schools for boys, situated in Swanbourne, Western Australia, Australia. The school is a member of the Public Schools Association and is now a Uniting Church school, although it was founded in 1897 by the Presbyterian Church of Australia...
. In 1964, he became a Senior Tutor in English at the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
, and later an Honorary Research Fellow after his retirement.
Works
Peter Cowan published eight volumes of short stories, five novels and three biographies. He also edited two books of diaries and letters and co-edited seven volumes of short fiction.His first published work was a short story, “Living”, published in Angry Penguins
Angry Penguins
Angry Penguins was an Australian literary and artistic avant-garde movement of the 1940s. The movement was stimulated by a modernist magazine of the same name published by the surrealist poet Max Harris, who founded the magazine in 1940, at the age of 18....
in 1943. Over the next twenty years he continued to publish short stories.
He received a Commonwealth Literary Fund Fellowship in 1963 to write his first novel, Summer. His other novels included Seed (1966), The Color of the Sky (1986) and The Hills of Apollo Bay (1989).
In later years he was particularly active in recording his family’s pioneering history in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. He wrote a biography of his grandmother Edith Dircksey Cowan
Edith Cowan
Edith Dircksey Cowan , MBE was an Australian politician, social campaigner and the first woman elected to an Australian parliament....
, entitled A Unique Position (1978), and a biography of her uncle Maitland Brown
Maitland Brown
Maitland Brown was an explorer, politician and pastoralist in colonial Western Australia. He is best remembered as the leader of the La Grange expedition, which searched for and recovered the bodies of three white settlers murdered by Indigenous Australians, and subsequently killed a number of...
(1988), as well as editing the letters of Eliza and Thomas Brown
Thomas Brown (Western Australian politician)
Thomas Brown was an early settler in colonial Western Australia, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council....
(A Faithful Picture, 1977), and the diary and reports of Walkinshaw Cowan (A Colonial Experience, 1978).
For many years he was co-editor of the literary journal Westerly
Westerly (Australian literary magazine)
Westerly is a literary magazine that is produced at the University of Western Australia English Department since 1956. It is currently publishes two issues a year....
and wrote many articles and reviews for it.
His manuscripts and his extensive Australiana book collection are held in the Scholars’ Centre of the University of Western Australia Library
University of Western Australia Library
The University of Western Australia Library is the oldest and largest university library in Western Australia, with a budget of more than A$16 million and a collection of about 1.5 million volumes and 55,000 current serial titles. Its public services include seven different subject libraries and...
.
Awards
Peter Cowan’s novel The Color of the Sky won the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award for Fiction and the Western Australia Week Literary Award in 1986.In 1987, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and in 1992 he received the Patrick White Award for an Australian Writer of Great Distinction.
Edith Cowan University
Edith Cowan University
Edith Cowan University is located in Perth, Western Australia. It was named after the first woman to be elected to an Australian Parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Australian university named after a woman....
conferred its first Honorary Degree (Doctor of Philosophy) on Peter Cowan in 1995. In 1997 the Peter Cowan Writers’ Centre was established at the Joondalup Campus of Edith Cowan University
Edith Cowan University
Edith Cowan University is located in Perth, Western Australia. It was named after the first woman to be elected to an Australian Parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Australian university named after a woman....
, based in the reconstructed house of his grandmother.
He was named one of Western Australia’s Living Treasures in 1999, and was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to literature through writing.