Randolph Stow
Encyclopedia
Julian Randolph Stow was an Australia
n writer.
, Western Australia
, Randolph Stow attended Guildford Grammar School
and the University of Western Australia
. He lectured in English Literature at the University of Adelaide
, the University of Western Australia and the University of Leeds
. He also worked on an Aboriginal mission as an anthropologist, used as background for To the Islands, and as a patrol officer in the Trobriand Islands
, where he suffered a severe attack of malaria. He used this experience in Visitants.
For many years he lived in Suffolk
in England, his ancestral county, and he used traditional tales from that area as the basis of The Girl Green as Elderflower; the last decades of his life he spent in nearby Harwich
.
His novel To the Islands won the Miles Franklin Award
in 1958. He was awarded the Patrick White Award
in 1979. As well as producing fiction and poetry, he also wrote libretti for theatrical works by Peter Maxwell Davies
.
Because he was a local writer of some standing, a considerable number of Randolph Stow's poems are listed in the State Library of Western Australia online catalogue with indications where they have been anthologised.
He died in England of liver cancer
at the age of 74.
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.
Life
Born in GeraldtonGeraldton, Western Australia
Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth in the Mid West region. Geraldton has an estimated population at June 2010 of 36,958...
, 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...
, Randolph Stow attended Guildford Grammar School
Guildford Grammar School
Guildford Grammar School, informally known as Guildford Grammar, Guildford or GGS, is an independent, day and boarding school for boys situated in Guildford, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia....
and 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...
. He lectured in English Literature at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, the University of Western Australia and the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
. He also worked on an Aboriginal mission as an anthropologist, used as background for To the Islands, and as a patrol officer in the Trobriand Islands
Trobriand Islands
The Trobriand Islands are a 450 km² archipelago of coral atolls off the eastern coast of New Guinea. They are situated in Milne Bay Province in Papua New Guinea. Most of the population of 12,000 indigenous inhabitants live on the main island of Kiriwina, which is also the location of the...
, where he suffered a severe attack of malaria. He used this experience in Visitants.
For many years he lived in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
in England, his ancestral county, and he used traditional tales from that area as the basis of The Girl Green as Elderflower; the last decades of his life he spent in nearby Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
.
His novel To the Islands won the Miles Franklin Award
Miles Franklin Award
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ...
in 1958. He was awarded the Patrick White Award
Patrick White Award
The Patrick White Award is an annual literary prize established by Patrick White. White used his 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature award to establish a trust for this prize....
in 1979. As well as producing fiction and poetry, he also wrote libretti for theatrical works by Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
.
Because he was a local writer of some standing, a considerable number of Randolph Stow's poems are listed in the State Library of Western Australia online catalogue with indications where they have been anthologised.
He died in England of liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
at the age of 74.
Novels
- A Haunted Land 1956
- The Bystander 1957
- To the IslandsTo the IslandsTo the Islands is a Miles Franklin Award-winning novel by Australian author Randolph Stow.-References:***...
1958 (revised in 1982) - Tourmaline 1963
- The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea 1965
- Visitants 1979
- The Girl Green as Elderflower 1980
- The Suburbs of Hell 1984
Poetry
- Act One 1957
- Outrider: Poems 1956–1962 1962
- A Counterfeit Silence: Selected Poems of Randolph Stow 1969
Opera
- Eight Songs for a Mad KingEight Songs for a Mad KingEight Songs for a Mad King is a monodrama by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies with a libretto by Randolph Stow, based on words of George III. The work was written for the South-African actor Roy Hart and the composer's ensemble the Pierrot Players, and premiered on 22 April 1969...
1969, libretto - Miss Donnithorne's Maggot 1974, libretto
External links
- Randolph Stow - Writer
- Graeme Kinross-Smith 'Randolph Stow: a Photo essay' JASAL 10, 2010
- David Fonteyn Ecological Allegory: Tourmaline, an Example' JASAL 10 (2010)
- Kerry Leves ' Toxic flowers: Randolph Stow's unfused horizons' JASAL 10 (2010)
- Bernadette Brennan 'Words of Water: Reading Otherness in Tourmaline and Oyster ' JASAL 3 (2004)