James Martin Devaney (31 May 1890 – 14 August 1976) was an Australian poet, novelist, and journalist.

Biography

Born in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

, Victoria in 1890, Devaney attended St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, entering the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute of Religious brother, brothers. In 1817, Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from Fr ...

juniorate in 1904. He took his vows in 1915. He moved to Queensland in 1921 after leaving the order due to contracting tuberculosis. He pursued writing and journalism. Under the pen-name 'Fabian', he contributed between 1924 and 1943 a nature column to the ''Brisbane Courier'' (renamed ''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

'' after 1933). He also wrote a regular literary column for the

Catholic Leader ''The Catholic Leader'', originally ''The Catholic Age'', then ''The Age'', is a newspaper published in Brisbane, Queensland from 1892, and is the official organ of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. The Archdiocese of Brisbane says ...

. Devaney was active in literary circles in the 1930s and 1940s. He was president of the Queensland Authors' and Artists' Association from 1944 to 1945 (later known as the Fellowship of Australian Writers or FAW). After World War II, he returned to teaching working on pastoral stations in Victoria and Queensland.

Personal life

Devaney married Phyllis de Winton in 1924. He died in Brisbane on 14 August 1976 and was buried at Redcliffe Cemetery. Several boxes of his papers can be accessed from the Fryer Library at

The University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone universities, an i ...

Library.

Works

* ''Fabian: Poems'', Melbourne: Lothian, 1923 * ''The Currency Lass: a Tale of the Convict Days'', Sydney: Cornstalk, 1927 * ''The Vanished Tribes'', Sydney: Cornstalk, 1929 * ''The Girl Oona, and Other Tales of the Australian Blacks'', Sydney: Cornstalk Publishing Co., 1929 * ''The Witch-Doctor, and Other Tales of the Australian Blacks'', Sydney:

Angus and Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

, 1930 * ''I-rinka the Messenger, and Other Tales of the Australian Blacks'', Sydney:

, 1930 * ''Earth Kindred'', Melbourne: Frank Wilmot, Coles Library, 1931 * ''Debutantes: a poem'', Hawthorn East, Victoria: The Hawthorn Press, (1939?) * ''Dark Road'', Hawthorn East, Victoria: Hawthorn Press, 1938, * ''Where the Wind Goes'', Sydney:

, 1939 * ''Shaw Neilson'', Sydney:

, 1944 * ''Washdirt: a novel of old Bendigo'', Melbourne: Georgian House, 1946 * ''Poems'', Sydney:

, 1950 * ''Poetry In Our Time'', Melbourne:

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text ...

, 1952

Notes

1890 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian male writers Australian male novelists Australian male poets 20th-century Australian poets {{Australia-writer-stub