Alfred Stephens
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Alfred George Stephens (28 August 1865 – 15 April 1933), commonly referred to as A. G. Stephens, was an Australian writer and literary critic, notably for '' The Bulletin''. He was appointed to that position by its owner,
J. F. Archibald Jules François Archibald (born John Feltham Archibald, 14 January 1856 – 10 September 1919) was an Australian journalist and publisher, best known for co-founding and editing '' The Bulletin'', Australia's most popular magazine in the late 19 ...
in 1894.


Early life and journalism

Stephens was born at
Toowoomba, Queensland Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...
. His father, Samuel George Stephens, came from
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, and his mother, originally Euphemia Russell, was born in
Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...
, Scotland. The first enrolled boy, he was educated at
Toowoomba Grammar School Toowoomba Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding grammar school for boys, in East Toowoomba, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. Toowoomba Grammar was established in 1875, the third school to be ...
until he was 15, and had a good grounding in English, French, and the classics, but his education was later much extended by wide reading. His father was part-owner of the ''
Darling Downs Gazette The ''Darling Downs Gazette'' was a newspaper published from 1848 to 1922 in Drayton and Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia. History ''The Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser'' was founded in 1858 by Arthur Sidney Lyon. The first issu ...
'', and in its composing room the boy developed his first interest in printing. On leaving school he was employed in the printing department of
William Henry Groom William Henry Groom (9 March 1833 – 8 August 1901) was an English-born Australian publican, newspaper proprietor, and politician who served as a member of the Parliament of Queensland from 1862 to 1901 and of the Parliament of Australia in 19 ...
, proprietor of the ''
Toowoomba Chronicle ''The Toowoomba Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving Toowoomba, the Lockyer Valley and Darling Downs regional areas in Queensland, Australia. As of 2016, the newspaper is owned by News Corp Australia, and forms part of their Regional Medi ...
'', and later in the business of A. W. Beard, printer and bookbinder of George Street, Sydney. He was learning much that was to be invaluable to him in his later career as journalist and editor. He returned to Queensland and in 1889 was editor of ''
The ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'' ''Gympie Miner''. A year or two later he became sub-editor of ''
The Boomerang ''The Boomerang'' was a weekly newspaper published in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. History ''The Boomerang'' was a short-lived radical, illustrated, weekly newspaper, published in Brisbane, Queensland, in the late 19th century. It's sub ...
'' at
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, which had been founded by
William Lane William Lane (6 September 1861 – 26 August 1917) was an English-born journalist, author, advocate of Australian labour politics and a utopian socialist ideologue. Lane was born in Bristol, England into an impoverished family. After showi ...
in 1887, but though this journal had able contributors it fell into financial trouble, and in 1891 Stephens went to Cairns to become editor and part proprietor of the Cairns ''Argus''. On the ''Boomerang'' he had had valuable experience as a reviewer of literature, on the ''Argus'' he enlarged his knowledge of Queensland politics. In 1892 he won a prize of £25 for an essay "Why North Queensland Wants Separation", published in 1893, and in this year was also published "The Griffilwraith" ('An Independent Criticism of the Methods and Manoeuvres of the Queensland Coalition. Government, 1890–1893'), an able piece of pamphleteering attacking the coalition of the old rivals, Sir
Samuel Griffith Sir Samuel Walker Griffith (21 June 1845 – 9 August 1920) was an Australian judge and politician who served as the inaugural Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1903 to 1919. He also served a term as Chief Justice of Queensland and ...
and Sir
Thomas McIlwraith Sir Thomas McIlwraith (17 May 1835 – 17 July 1900) was for many years the dominant figure of colonial politics in Queensland. He was Premier of Queensland from 1879 to 1883, again in 1888, and for a third time in 1893. In common with most po ...
.


''The Bulletin''

In April 1893 having sold his share in the Cairns paper he left Australia for San Francisco, travelled across the continent, and thence to Great Britain and France. He had begun to do some journalistic work in London when he received the offer from
J. F. Archibald Jules François Archibald (born John Feltham Archibald, 14 January 1856 – 10 September 1919) was an Australian journalist and publisher, best known for co-founding and editing '' The Bulletin'', Australia's most popular magazine in the late 19 ...
of a position on '' The Bulletin''. He returned to Australia and arrived at Sydney in January 1894. His account of his travels, "A Queenslander's Travel Notes", published in that year, though bright enough in its way suggests a curiously insensitive Stephens. Stephens began work on ''The Bulletin'' as a sub-editor, and it was not until after the middle of 1896 that he developed the famous "Red Page" reviews of literature printed on the inside of the cover. They were at first little concerned with work done in Australia, but as the years went by Australians were given their due share of the space. Stephens was an active editor between the years 1897–1904, working on sixteen books of poetry, as well as ''Such is Life'', ''
On Our Selection ''On Our Selection'' (1899) is a series of stories written by Australian author Steele Rudd, the pen name of Arthur Hoey Davis, in the late 1890s, featuring the characters Dad and Dave Rudd. The original edition of the book was illustrated by ...
'' and ''Bulletin Story Book''. But Stephens was also acting as a literary agent, and in this way came in touch with and influenced much the rising school of Australian poets. He prepared for publication in 1897 a collected edition of the verses of Barcroft Boake, with a sympathetic and able account of his life, and during the next 20 years he saw through the press, volumes of verse by
Arthur Henry Adams Arthur Henry Adams (6 June 1872 – 4 March 1936) was a journalist and author. He started his career in New Zealand, though he spent most of it in Australia, and for a short time lived in China and London. Biography Arthur Adams was born in La ...
, Will H. Ogilvie,
Roderic Quinn Roderic Joseph Quinn (26 November 1867 – 15 August 1949) was an Australian poet. Early life Quinn was born in Sydney the seventh child of Irish parents: Edward Quinn, letter-carrier, and his wife Catherine. He was educated at Catholic school ...
,
James Hebblethwaite James Hebblethwaite (22 September 1857 – 13 September 1921) was an English-born Australian poet, teacher and clergyman. Life Hebblethwaite was born in Preston, Lancashire, England, the son of William Hebblethwaite, a corn miller, and his w ...
, Hubert Newman Wigmore Church,
Bernard O'Dowd Bernard Patrick O'Dowd (11 April 1866 – 1 September 1953) was an Australian poet, activist, lawyer, and journalist. He worked for the Victorian colonial and state governments for almost 50 years, first as an assistant librarian at the Supreme ...
, Charles H. Souter, Robert Crawford,
Shaw Neilson John Shaw Neilson (1872–1942) was an Australian poet. Slightly built, for most of his life he worked as a labourer, fruit-picking, clearing scrub, navvying and working in quarries, and, after 1928, working as a messenger with the Country Roa ...
and others. In prose he recognised the value of
Joseph Furphy Joseph Furphy ( Irish: Seosamh Ó Foirbhithe; 26 September 1843 – 13 September 1912) was an Australian author and poet. He mostly wrote under the pseudonym Tom Collins and is best known for his novel '' Such Is Life'' (1903), regarded as an A ...
's ''Such is Life'', and succeeded in getting it published in spite of the realisation of ''The Bulletin's'' proprietary that money would be lost in doing so.


Later career

In September 1906, newspapers suggested Stephens was going to London where it was expected he would remain, but this was confusion with another Stephens. In October 1906 however 'Red Page' Stephens had left ''The Bulletin''; the exact occasion for the break has never been known.Norman Lindsay in ''Bohemians of the Bulletin '' claims that Stephens, after his return from a visit to Europe, demanded a raise in pay, which he was refused. He resigned 'in a fit of pique'. Lindsay adds that Stephens 'was a fool to leave... and they were bigger fools to let him go...' He then set himself up initially running a bookshop. For the remaining 27 years of his life Stephens was a freelance writer except for a brief period as a leader writer on the ''Wellington Post'' in 1907. While he was with ''The Bulletin'' he had published a small volume of his own verses, "Oblation", in 1902; "The Red Pagan", a collection of his criticisms from the "Red Page" appeared in 1904, and a short but interesting biography of
Victor Daley Victor James William Patrick Daley (5 September 1858 – 29 December 1905) was an Australian poet. Daley serves chiefly as an example of the Irish Literary Revival, Celtic Twilight in Australian verse. He also serves as a lyrical altern ...
in the same year. He had also brought out five numbers of a little literary magazine called ''
The Bookfellow ''The Bookfellow'' was a monthly English-language journal published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The publication's focus was Australian literature and editions were often accompanied by illustrations. History ''The Bookfellow'' was pu ...
'' in 1899. This was revived as a weekly for some months in 1907, and with variations in the title, numbers appeared at intervals until 1925. He supported himself by freelance journalism, by lecturing, he visited
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and gave a course of four lectures on Australian poets in 1914, and by acting as a literary agent. His quest of a living was a constant struggle, but he never complained. He was joint author with
Albert Dorrington Albert Dorrington (27 September 1874 – 9 April 1953) was an English writer, active in Australia, who was born in Fulham, London, England. Life Dorrington arrived in Australia around 1890 as a sixteen-year-old and after brief stays in Melb ...
of a novel, "The Lady Calphurnia Royal", published in 1909, in 1911 a collection of prose and verse, "The Pearl and the Octopus", appeared, and in 1913 "Bill's Idees", sketches about a reformed Sydney larrikin. A collection of his interviews was published in 1921, "School Plays" in 1924, a short account of Henry Kendall in 1928, and just before his own death a biography of
Christopher Brennan Christopher John Brennan (1 November 1870 – 5 October 1932) was an Australian poet, scholar and literary critic. Biography Brennan was born in Haymarket, an inner suburb of Sydney, to Christopher Brennan (d. 1919), a brewer, and his wife ...
. Stephens died suddenly at Sydney, on 15 April 1933. He had married Constance Ivingsbelle Smith in 1894, who survived him with two sons and four daughters, including journalist Constance Robertson. A collection of his prose writings with an introductory memoir by
Vance Palmer Edward Vivian "Vance" Palmer (28 August 1885 – 15 July 1959) was an Australian novelist, dramatist, essayist and critic. Early life Vance Palmer was born in Bundaberg, Queensland, on 28 August 1885 and attended the Ipswich Grammar School. Wi ...
, ''A. G. Stephens: His Life and Work'', was published in 1941. An interesting collection of his manuscripts is at the
Mitchell Library The Mitchell Library is a large public library located in the Charing Cross area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the largest public reference library in Europe, and the centre of Glasgow's public library system. History The library was initiall ...
, Sydney. A. G. Stephens wrote a fair amount of verse, for which he claimed no more than that it was "quite good rhetorical verse". He was an excellent interviewer because he was really interested in his subjects, and he was a remarkably good critic, largely because he had an original analytic mind, and also because he fully realised how difficult the art of criticism is.


Publications


Anthologies edited

* '' The Bulletin Reciter: A Collection of Verses for Recitation from the Bulletin 1880-1901'' (1901) * ''The Bulletin Story Book : A Selection of Stories and Literary Sketches from the Bulletin 1880-1901'' (1901) * ''Anzac Memorial'' (1916)


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Cantrell, Leon (ed.) (1977). ''A. G. Stephens : selected writings''. Angus and Robertson. . * Lindsay, Norman. (1973). 'A. G. Stephens' in ''Bohemians of the Bulletin''. Angus and Robertson. . Lindsay's portrait of A. G. Stephens the man is unflattering: Lindsay writes that there was 'an enmity' between them that lasted until Stephens' death. Nonetheless, Lindsay firmly declares Stephens' 'important place in the literary tradition of this country.' * Miller, E. Morris. (1973). ''Australian literature from its beginnings to 1935 : a descriptive and bibliographical survey of books by Australian authors in poetry, drama, fiction, criticism and anthology with subsidiary entries to 1938.'' Sydney University Press. * Palmer, Vance. (1941) ''A. G. Stephens, His Life and Work.'' Melbourne, Robertson and Mullins. * Stephensen, P. R. (1940). ''The life and works of A.G. Stephens ("The Bookfellow") : a lecture, delivered to the Fellowship of Australian Writers, Sydney, 10 March 1940''. Self-published. * Rolfe, Patricia. (1979). 'Rhadamanthus of the Red Page' in ''The Journalistic Javelin.'' Sydney, Wildcat Press. . * ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 17 April 1933


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Alfred 1865 births 1933 deaths Australian biographers Australian male biographers Australian magazine editors People educated at Toowoomba Grammar School Australian literary critics Australian publishers (people)