David Martin (poet)
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David Martin (22 December 1915 – 1 July 1997), born Lajos or Ludwig Detsinyi, into a
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish family in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
(then part of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
), was an Australian novelist, poet, playwright, journalist, editor, literary reviewer and lecturer. He also used the names Louis Adam and Louis Destiny, adopting the name David Martin after moving to England.


Biography

Martin was born in Budapest, but educated in Germany. He left Germany in 1934, spending time in the Netherlands, Hungary and
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
. In 1937 he travelled to Spain. where he served as a volunteer in the medical service of the International Brigade of the
Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army () was the main branch of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la República'' ...
during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. In 1938 Martin joined his father in London, working in his clothing factory, before moving to Glasgow in 1941 where he worked as a correspondent with the ''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
''. In 1941, Martin married Elizabeth Richenda Powell, great-granddaughter of the Quaker Elizabeth Fry. They had one son, Jan. Martin returned to London, working for the BBC until 1944. From 1945 to 1947 he was literary editor of '' Reynold's News''. In 1948 he travelled to India as British correspondent for the ''Daily Express''. Martin and his family settled in Australia from 1950, settling in Melbourne, where Martin commenced work as a freelance journalist and editor of the '' Australian Jewish News''. He joined the Communist Party in 1951, was active until 1956 and remained a member until 1959, when he was asked to resign. He had weekly current affairs columns in ''Free Press'' (1951–52) and the ''Sunday Observer'' (1969–71) and was foreign correspondent for the Indian newspaper ''Hindu'' () and for the Canadian newspaper the '' Montreal Star'' (). In addition, he contributed an enormous number of articles, short stories and reviews to a variety of newspapers and journals, including '' Overland'', '' Meanjin'', '' Southerly'' and '' Quadrant'', covering a diverse range of topics. In 1988, Martin was made a
Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
for his services to Australian literature. He also won the Patrick White Award in 1991 and was given an Emeritus Award by the Literature Fund of the Australia Council in 1996. David Martin died in Beechworth, Victoria, on 1 July 1997. One of his grandchildren, Toby Martin, is the guitarist and frontman of the rock band Youth Group.


Bibliography


Poetry collections

* * ''Trident'' (1944) * ''Rhyme and Reason : Thirty-Four Poems'' (1944) * ''The Shoes Men Walk In'' (1946) * ''From Life : Selected Poems'' (1953) * ''Poems of David Martin 1938-58'' (1958) * ''The Gift: Poems 1959-65'' (1966) * ''The Idealist'' (1968) * ''I Rhyme My Time : A Selection of Poems for Young People'' (1980) * ''Foreigners'' (1981) * ''Peppino'' (1983) * ''David Martin’s Beechworth book: poems'' (1993)


Novels

* ''Tiger Bay'' (1946) * ''The Stones of Bombay'' (1950) * ''The Young Wife'' (1962) * ''The Hero of Too'' (1965) * ''The King Between'' (1966) * ''Where a Man Belongs'' (1969)


Young adult and children's novels

* ''Hughie'' (1971) * ''Frank and Francesca'' (1972) * ''Gary'' (1972) * ''The Chinese Boy'' (1973) * ''Katie'' (1974) * ''The Cabby’s Daughter'' (1974) * ''Mister P and his Remarkable Flight'' (1975) * ''The Devilish Mystery of the Flying Mum'' (1977) * ''The Mermaid Attack'' (1978) * ''The Man in the Red Turban'' (1978) * ''Peppino Says Goodbye'' (1980) * ''Peppino Turns His Luck'' (1982) * ''Peppino'' (1983) * ''Peppino in the Tobacco War'' (1984) * ''The Girl Who Didn't Know Kelly'' (1985) * ''The Kitten Who Wouldn’t Purr'' (1987) * ''Clowning Sim'' (1988)


Drama

* ''The Shepherd and the Hunter'' (1946) *'' Spiegel the Cat'' (1961) * ''The Young Wife'' (1966)


Non-fiction

* ''On the Road to Sydney'' (1970) travel


Autobiography

* ''Fox On My Door'' (1987) * ''My Strange Friend: An Autobiography'' (1991)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, David 1915 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Australian journalists 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian poets Australian male novelists Australian male poets Australian people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Australian people of the Spanish Civil War Communist Party of Australia members Communist poets Hungarian communists Hungarian emigrants to Australia Jewish Hungarian writers International Brigades personnel Jewish Australian writers Meanjin people Members of the Order of Australia Patrick White Award winners Writers from Budapest Australian lecturers