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File:James Martin Devaney.jpg

Portrait of James Martin Devaney

Early Life

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Bendigo Hospital in 1890

James Devaney (also known as Jim or Shamus) was born at the Bendigo Hosptial in Victoria in 1890. Devaney was the 4th child of Patrick Devaney, an Irish labourer and Mary nee Conroy, a native born Australian. He was educated at the St. Joseph’s College in Hunter’s Hill, Sydney, where he chose to enter the Marist Brother’s Juniorate (Marist Brothers) in 1915 , swearing an oath to help the under privileged; following the Marian Tradition (Mariology). Devaney then took up the religious name ‘Fabian’, after the 3rd-century Pope & Martyr, Pope Fabian , which later became his literary pen-name .

Before Literature

Before his literary career, his primary occupation was authorship, tutor, freelance journalist, school master and primary school teacher for over ten years. He also worked for the U.S. Armed Forces during the War period, working as a transport clerk, counting trains and trams for 11 hours a day. When Devaney joined the Marist Brotherhood, he served his time as a teacher in various primary schools around New Zealand, Sydney and Western Queensland as well as tutored in various outback stations, before heading to Rockhampton. After 1950, Devaney traveled around the Eastern States doing various private tutoring jobs and several short term teaching contracts before ending his teaching career in Newcastle Waters as a Principal for a school, specifically for Aboriginal students.

Illness

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Westwood Sanatorium Opening Day 1919

No later had Devaney arrived in Rockhampton to continue teaching, he was diagnosed with a form of Tuberculosis in his early 30s’ and for a year Devaney was treated at the Westwood Sanatorium (located in a small town West of Rockhampton), but was then later transferred to the Diamantina Hospital in Brisbane, where he made a full recovery. Although being cured from Tuberculosis, it had left Devaney in a weakened state and thus forced him to retire from his teaching career, which also led to his departure from the brotherhood in 1921.

Love Life

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James Devaney with wife Phyllis, holding an unknown child.

While recovering at the Dianantina Hospital, he met his attending nurse Phyllis Norah de Winton; not only was Winton an expert nurse but she also happened to be the cousin of Sir Dallas Brooks, the former Governor of Victoria. Soon after they met, Devaney married Phyllis at the Church of Mary Immaculate in Waverley on the 29th of November, 1924. Devaney was very fond of his wife, whom he considered “my best critic” in Rex Ingamells’s biography of Devaney titled, James Devaney. She also contributed immensely to his work, including Dark Road. Phyllis passed away on July 9th, 1962 at the aged of 65 and was buried in the Redcliffe Cemetery . Devaney dedicated a tribute to her, consisting of 6 short poems, dated from 1936. Since only 25 copies were ever printed, this collection is considered to be the most rare in the literature archived.

After Illness

During his recovery process at Westwood, James became very interested in nature studies, specifically the Australian environment, and through his time teaching at various Aboriginal schools, Devaney also had a soft spot for the rights and equal treatment of the Aboriginal people, specifically Aboriginal Law, which sparked his new found passion for becoming a full-time writer. Devaney passed the time by writing about his Religious doubts, personal denials, emotional despairs, life and affirmations which resulted to his first book, which he reluctantly called Fabian (1923). In Gary Catalano (2001) biography of Devaney, he believed that the events of Devaney’s life, including his critical illness had made a mark in his writing and hence has turned him in to a literary genius, which in turn has helped him along in his career path. William Hatherell (2004) also made a similar comparison in his article, James Devaney and the Brisbane Resistance to Modernism.

Devaney's views

Views on modernism

James Devaney was a transitional person whose works were considered as ‘old-fashioned’ and in addition, was an active advocate against modernism in poetry throughout his life. He had not only expressed his views on modernism in news articles (might need to name a few), but also published the book, Poetry in Our Time: a Review of Contemporary Values to declare his thoughts of the differences between the old styles of poetry writing against the new. This book not only brought him reputation, but also criticism. Some say he was a reactionary, whose works lack logic and reality but Devaney himself, insisted that poems are like songs, emotions and feeling are far more important than intellect and logic. "Devaney considered the modernists as intellectuals who neglect the most important elements in poetry; they are love, brotherliness, courage, companionship, self-sacrifice and sympathy" stated Hatherell. Moreover, Devaney claims that modernism discriminated the traditional values of poetry, in order to be considered contemporary, therefore distinguishing that this is the new generation of literature. Similarly, this argument between the new and the old had stirred up a wartime debate. T.S. Eliot and Ezra Paund, as the most representative modernists in this era, stated that the old style of poetry was too imaginative without logic. On the other hand, traditional poets, like Devaney, argued that modernism is simply a development of fashion that will simply fade away with time. In addition, he also claims that modernism lacks inspiration.

Religious views

Although Devaney was a Catholic, he still questioned his beliefs and the authority of Christianity. His personal beliefs have been reflected on in his works, Fabian and The New Law.

Fabian was written when Devaney was suffering from tuberculosis, and his Marist brothers refused to provide help or support, financially or through physical visits, seeing as it was out of their hands. Such rejection and neglect can be seen from the sad and pessimism lyrics of the poetry, illustrating how Devaney might have felt throughout this event.

The New Law was written in a biblical dialogue that portrayed Devaney's beliefs of God. Moreover, Devaney used an archaic style of writing because he believed that only the old-fashioned expressions could fully express the meaning intended to create a more emotional and visual interaction with the reader.

Views on Aboriginals

Before publishing his book, The Vanished Tribes, Devaney had spent his time travelling around the Australian outback, researching and collecting various stories from the vast Aboriginal tribes that still remained. It is a book that contains twenty stories of the original Australian Aboriginals who cultivated the land before the European settlement arrived. Upon research, he discovered the spiritual connection between the Aboriginals and the land, helping him combined his interests of both nature and Aboriginal culture to create, The Vanished Tribes. The novel was considered his finest work, providing a comprehensive understanding of the life in the outback and Aboriginal culture. The book was considered a success because Devaney told the stories with a respectful, sympathetic eye, thus giving the minority a voice. In doing so, Devaney demonstrated his high regard for the Aboriginals’ respect for the land. .

Furthermore, since serving as a teacher under the Marists Brotherhood, Devaney had the opportunity to teach at various Australian Aboriginal schools in the outback, and through such experience, grew a fondness for the Australian Natives and therefore a passion to help the underprivileged. At which time, he donated his life to help the Aboriginals have a better life in what way he could.

Achievements and jobs

Between the year 1924 to 1943, James Devaney worked for the Queensland Courier-Mail for over 20 years, publishing weekly nature columns under his pen-name Fabian. He also served his time as the principle editor, and writer of reviews and essays for the Catholic Leader. Other Australian papers Devaney was associated with was the Bulletin, Daily Mail, the Australian and Southerly, to name a few. Furthermore, he contributed to various Australian and Literary Magazines such as the Southwellian, Jindyworobak and the Scope.

Moreover, he was one of the leading contributor to the literary magazine Meanjin, founded in Brisbane by Clem Christesen in 1940. Although Deavney highly regarded the magazine, he states that he played no major part in the running of it, “considering it to be for the young and modern not for the ancients such as himself”.

The Avant-Garde Club and the Barjai Group are also other associations in which Devaney has mentioned in Hatherell's article.

During his time in the literary industry, James Devaney conducted various workshop classes for the Writers Guild of Queensland (Australian Writers' Guild) (http://www.awg.com.au/), teaching young writers about the aspects of English literature and journalism as well as held seminars for play writing to various writing groups around Queensland, such as the Brisbane Realist Writers Group. Thanks to his contribution to the association, The Writer’s Guild elected Devaney as an honorary member of their society and he went on to conduct the Guild’s Creative Writing Course for the year 1962 and 1963. In addition, he also delivered lectures to various Literary Societies that invoked his interest, such as the Communist Front Group (Communist front).

Devaney even had the privileged to deliver lectures in various Capital cities, funded by the Commonwealth Literary Fund.

Furthermore, Devaney was associated with the Brisbane Catholic minority, as well as the Catholic Poetry Society, formed by Paul Grano in 1936.

Devaney was a foundation member and supporter of the Queensland Branch of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (QAAA/FAW (Q) (http://www.writers.asn.au/), serving a term as president from 1943 to 1945 and was then made a life member in 1955.

Known Literacy work

James Devaney produced a large volume of poetry, prose, essays, and criticisms throughout his writing career. James Devaney is best known for his poetry. He has six published collections: Fabian(1923), Earth Kindred (1931), Dark Road (1938), Where the wind goes (1939), Debutantes (1939), and Poems (1950)).

Devaney contributed many other literary works, such as novels, biography and critical review. He had four published novels. They are, The currency lass : A Tale of the Convict Days (1927), The Vanished Tribes (1929), Washdirt: A novel of Old Bendigo (1946) and The New Law (1955). He wrote his only biography, Shaw Neilson, as a tribute to his friend after he died. Moreover, Devaney also edited Neilson's poems into the collection, Unpublished poems of Shaw Neilson in 1947).

His critical review of modernism in "Poetry in Our Time: A Review of Contemporary Values has received many critiques and further established his reputation.

Nature and Travel Writing

The Earth Kindred & Where the wind goes

James Devaney is regarded as a naturalist poet who wrote huge amount of poems glorifying nature. The Earth Kindred (1931) and Where the Wind Goes (1939) were the most popular works of Devaney’s that represent his passion and love of nature. Earth Kindred was published after he recovered from his illness, where all his morbid bitterness found in Dark Road had been dismissed; rather, Devaney depicted the nature beautifully and lively... Similarly, his other work Where the Wind Goes was based on his observations of nature.. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that Devaney’s various moods (happy, sad, worry, etc.) were reflected in different poems in this collection .

In addition to his poetry devoted to nature, Devaney contributed many essays and articles to theBushlovers nature column in the Brisbane Courier (renamed the Courier Mail in 1933), (Need reference) each Saturday between 1924 and 1943 under the pen-name "Fabian" . These contributions were predominantly in the style of a travel essay, where Devaney described his journey to his destination, the people who inhabited the place, the landscape and any landmarks, and the flora and fauna that could be found there. Devaney tended to romanticise the land, and his vocabulary aimed to evoke a sense of mystery, awe, and wonder at the natural world

His article, The Never Never, published in the Brisbane Courier on Saturday 9th of February, 1924, romanticises the harshness of the Central Australian bushland . The article was written in first person, where he describes his journey on the train to the Western townships around Longreach, including the way of life and the people who live there. His article is divided into sections, each for his journey, the people, and the Western Flora. While this article could chiefly be recognised as a piece of travel writing, it also serves as a memoir with a healthy dose of nature observation. Similarly, his article, A Droving Epic, published on Saturday 26th of April, 1930, follows the Durack brothers' droving trip in 1883. A trip which took two and a half years to accomplish. Devaney focuses predominantly on the historical event, the narrative of the drove; yet he still manages to romanticise the practise of droving, the casualness of the droving in Australian culture, and the landscape itself that the Durack brothers travelled through.

In contrast to The Never Never, Devaney’s article, The Blue Mountains, published on Saturday 18th of July, 1931, takes on a less personal review of the landscape of the Blue Mountains. The piece still echoes of romanticism; Devaney describes in minute detail the scope of the scene before him as he stands on the points and overseas the landscape. His inclusion of a small lyric: "Flows calmly to the rocky shelf/ And there leaps bravely over" (Need reference), links the article back to his poem titled, "The Blue Mountains". This link between his non-fictional article in the Brisbane Courier and his creative works, acts in a way that reminds the audience of his creative publications and his diversity and flexibility as a writer.

Aboriginal Culture and Lore

James Devaney was born in Bendigo, but he spent considerable time in outback Australia where he gathered material for his book, The Vanished Tribes., which contained stories of the aborigines and their environment together with legend and folk lore. The Vanished Tribes is a volume of twenty stories and five mock-Aboriginal poems that attempted to recreate the life and outlook of the Aborigines in the days before the coming of European men. In the twenty stories of this book there is great variety, and one feels that some are more genuine than others. That is, some of them are invented, more or less successfully and appropriately, while others seem part of the soil and landscape. However, this novel made he a well-known writer as the book was sketched in a lively way of writing. He has woven every name he uses into the very texture of one story after another, so that they are like recurrent notes in a pattern or a tune..

Devaney also wrote a considerable volume of non-fiction articles about Aboriginal culture that was published in various newspaper publications (such as?) (Need reference). Many articles, including: Aboriginal Games , Aboriginal Magic , Records of the Brisbane Blacks ; and The Mythical Bunyip attempted to acquaint the readers with Aboriginal culture, beliefs, and the situation of many of the tribes left after the white settlement. One article, the Aboriginal Art, published in The Queenslander, reviews the forms and techniques, display, and critical reception of Aboriginal art within the public domain . These articles have strong ties with his other novels, such as The Vanished Tribes, that seek to preserve knowledge of the Aboriginal culture.

Cultural Debates and Criticisms

Devaney is known to have been deeply involved in nurturing the Brisbane writing scene and performed many lectures, talks, and readings. ) He helped countless writers to improve or get started with their writing in workshops conducted for the Writers Guild of Queensland (Australian Writers' Guild) (http://www.awg.com.au/) . Clem Christensen, editor of Meanjin, described Devaney as a "most able exemplar of Queensland late romantic verse" in the QAA’s "Yearly Survey of Literature and Art" .

Throughout Devaney’s writing career, he remained an unabashedly firm advocate against literary modernism; a trend of writing he described as "faddish and derivative". . According to Devaney, intellectuals had taken over poetry and corrupted it’s true nature . He once commented, "I’ve always written poetry of impulse, not coldly composed intellectual verse. Often it was a line in the middle or at the end that started a lyric, giving the rhythm. I’ve never planned a poem beforehand in the sense of selecting a metre and then starting to compose" (Please redo reference, does not make sense) .

Poetry in our time: a review of contemporary values

Poetry in our time: a review of contemporary values is James Devaney’s most influential criticism. Since Devaney was a great teacher of many young writers and encouraged them to start writing poems, his view of the style of poetry seemed to have taken a side and his criticism of the modern poetry made him a famous critic. Devaney gave his personal opinions upon the new products of modernism and assisted the traditional form is not an obsolete. He also argued that the old verse cannot be superseded by new poetry. Moreover, he thinks the modernists are thumbing the nose at the traditional idea and standards, and maybe worse, sneering at youthful enthusiasms. He pointed out that modern poetry lacks love, courage, self-sacrifice and sympathy which are the most important elements in poetry.

Throughout his criticisms of modernism in poetry, Devaney remained true and spoke his mind. He was seen as a reactionary by other critics. Poetry of Our Time: A Review of Contemporary Values is a ruthless reassessment of what is good and bad in the field of contemporary poetry. Furthermore, the book can be seen as a symposium of the new and the old verse in poetry. The main reason why he wrote this book was because he wanted to speak for the silent side of traditional poetry and change the condition of literary criticism in Australia.

Evidently, Devaney had contributed many articles to Meanjin about his critical reviews on modernism, he had included some of the published articles in this book and only about half was new information.

Devaney’s involvement in Australian writing also included his reviews and criticisms of trends in Australian poetry and his peers works. These criticisms were sometimes written and published as newspaper articles, such as his article, "Some Aspects of Australian Poetry", published in the Brisbane Courier (Saturday 5th of April, 1924, on page 18). In the article, Devaney discussed the lack of a distinct voice or direction in Australian poetry and puts it to Australians' as not having a history of verse to draw upon of its own. (Need reference)

Similarly, "The Public Library", published in the Brisbane Courier (Saturday 8th of March, 1924), features Devaney’s dismay at the limited shelf space dedicated to Australian Literature, and the absence of recent works written by notable authors. In the article, he stresses the importance of the public library providing up to date, varied material that would satisfy all interests and pursuits. (Need reference)

Other essays published in newspapers concerning literary matters include Adam Lindsey Gordon (published in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 26th of April, 1924, on page 18)(Need reference), Art of Biography (published in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 10th of May, 1924, on page 18) (Need reference), Australian Literature (published in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 16th of February, 1924, on page 19) (need reference), Henry Kendall (published in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 15th of March, 1924, on page 18) (need reference), Rolf Boldrewood (published in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 23rd of February, 1924, on page 17), Shakespeare or Bacon? (published in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 19th of April, 1924, on page 19), Some Literary Leaders (published in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 3rd of May, 1924, on page 19), The Story of Marcus Clarke (published in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 2nd of February, 1924, on page 19), Thomas Moore (published in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 29th of March, 1924, on page 19), The Agony Column (published in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 19th of January, 1929, on page 22), and The Philosophy of Pessimism (published in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 17th of May, 1928, on page 24). (all of these list needs full reference including the author, if possible)

Human Spirituality

Some of his works pertained to the topic of human spirituality and religion. Two of his books of poetry, Dark Road and Fabian, reflect Devaney’s feelings about the human soul during the time of his sickness and recovery. The New Law is his only known published novel that deals directly with religion. (Need reference)

Dark Road

Devaney wrote several poems about his personal feelings, life, and his relationship with his wife, Phyllis Devaney, and wrote a poem about their anniversary which was included in his collection titled Dark Road. The book was privately printed by The Hawthorn Press , which was established by John Gartner. Some say the book was a reflection of the dark side of James Devaney, which he does not wish to be recorded or widely spread, hence the selective number of copies released. According to Martin Haley, the book has very moving things in it that reflected how James Devaney suffered from severe sickness of mind and body.

Fabian

Devaney’s first collection, Fabian, was written while he was recovering from his illness in the sanatorium and contains many metaphors of lost faith and the blankness of the dark.... Moreover, the name "Fabian" is also his pseudonym that he used when he was writing fir newspapers before the collection was published. Although Fabian can be seen as his other well-known name, the namesake collection has brought him higher reputation, however, he was not satisfied with this work.

The New Law

The New Law is his last published novel; a work of fiction.. The book was written in dramatic dialogue set in biblical times. Devaney wanted the dialogue to be the main focus without concerning any restriction of static scenes. The novel was written in the way of Gospel narrative. The language he used in the dialogue is archaic in style. This is because Devaney asserted that modern speech may not be fully suitable for the voice and the understandings of the historical stories. This book gave some insight of Devaney’s religious views.

Other works

Poems

One of his outstanding collections, Poems, published in 1950 in Sydney, is a collection that brought together selections from his earlier works, including Freight of Dreams, which had been printed in Melbourne, but not released until in 1946.. Devaney himself prefers the works included in Poems, and wanted to be remembered for them . The poem, The Evening Gleam, from Freight of Dreams was chosen for inclusion in Australian poetry, 1941. This was noted at the first page of the book . The poem is regarded as a fine work of Devaney 's because he has successfully expressed his emotion of calm and loveliness that he has been pursuing for a long time.

The currency lass : a tale of the convict days

His first novel, The Currency Lass : A Tale of the Convict Days, was well named, yet was not successful . Instead, The Vanished Tribes is regarded as his most representative work. The novel, The Currency Lass is a story of the old convict days in New South Wales. At that time, the men lived in robbery and violence. Moreover, they were cruelly flogged for the smallest offenses without any opportunity of escaping from their chains and taking to the bush.. It is a book that not only contains the story of the time, but also Devaney showed his distinctive observation and passion for nature by drawing freely on his immense store of bush lore .

Washdirt: a novel of old Bendigo

Devaney’s novel Washdirt, is a fictional account of the history and legends of Bendigo, Devaney’s hometown. This is his first full length novel that depicted the life during the Bendigo gold diggings in the 1850's. Critics have said that Washdirt mingles fiction with accurate historical reporting.. As a picture of life on the diggings, the novel has been described as good, but since he wanted to paint everything in detail, Devaney tended to obscure the overall effect of his storytelling. Therefore, some says it was not his most successful work because the story lacked sympathy for it’s characters. The story is more of an historical romance than fiction.ref>"The book browser." The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956) 19 Jul 1947: 39. Web. 26 Apr 2012 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22443768></ref> James Devaney evoked the atmosphere of the diggings, and has caught the spirit of the past.

Criticism and Reviews of His Works

Just as Devaney critiqued?? many of his peers on their prose and poetry, he too was critiqued?? based on his poetry, narrative, and criticisms.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Queensland was better known for its presses rather than its new poets. This resulted in a period that was highly polemical, a time of poetry wars between those advocates of a modernist style of writing, and those who reacted against this notion of an avant-garde in favour of a more traditional and nationalist style of writing . As a clear advocate for the traditional styles, Devaney’s works generally took after the English Romantic traditional styles. His poems often worked on a moralised landscape; his poem Eagle Heights made reference to the Eighteenth Century peripatetic tradition with strange uses of tetrameter couplets. Devaney’s tendency to use conventional personification and a mannered diction have been noted to have possibly been the influence of Rossetti or Swinburne, with compound epithets such as ‘twilight-gentled’ and ‘spirit-healing’ .

Devaney’s novels credited him with little acclaim. In a review by Martin Hayley (1977) in Phoenix Australia, Haley states that Devaney’s Washdirt lacked the ability to give the characters a true depth, or the villains a real "run for their money" . The most glowing report of his novels went to The Vanished Tribes; an inspirational work for a new school of Jindyworobaks that marked a revolt against neo-paganism and pseudo-Grecian works of the Lindsays and Macreacs, and a return to Australian resources . As for Devaney’s poetry, Hayley’s review holds Fabian in some esteem as having some of his most musical pieces.

Earth Kindred showed Devaney’s unrivaled knowledge of Australia’s flora and fauna, was nature poetry ‘in exelsis’ and showed Devaney at his ‘lyrical best’ .

Devaney’s non-fiction attracted criticism as much as his fictions. Devaney’s biography, Shaw Neilson is claimed to have endeavored to bring the images of Neilson as a practical, hardworking bushman and the poet-dreamer together as one recognised personality. Under Devaney’s pen, Neilson is said to have been transformed from the instinctive warbler that previous critics had painted him to a careful, painstaking craftsman .

Biographies

Biography (of Shaw Neilson)

This is Devaney’s first and the only biography which was published two years after Shaw Neilson passed away. Neilson was a friend of Devaney. This book was written in first person, where Devany gave his opinions on Neilson’s work and his views on Neilson’s personality. Neilson was one of the mentionable people who had a great influence in Devaney’s writing style and his life.. He was admired by Devaney and had been living in his house for months when he was ill. The biography written by Devaney not only shows interest in his personal reportage, but also contains some critical comments as well as textual collation.. Many reviews and news articles compare and mention Neilson when talking about Devaney and since he wrote the biography of Neilson, it is unquestionable that Shaw Neilson was a special person to him.

Devaney had published a book of Neilson’s verse named Unpublished poems of Shaw Neilson. Devaney described Shaw Neilson as inspirational, and that his poetry had a quality at times greater than the subtlest thinker.. Also, since Neilson was a good friend to Devaney, Devaney had done many things for Neilson, Devaney's writing style had been influenced by Shaw Neilson. In addition, since Neilson had left behind over 200 unpublished poems in his life time, Devaney had done some more sifting. As a result, the work is a welcome addition for not only the known works of the poet, but also to Australian literature.

Autobiography

The book Towards Evening was edited by Devaney’s friend Frank Francis. Although this can be seen as James Devaney's autobiography, Towards Evening is a collaboration of Devaney’s poems, letters, and other people’s writing and biographical details. This is to say, the editor Frank Francis, correspondent and friend of Devaney, wrote the book with the purpose of collecting Devaney's finest published and unpublished poems. There are twelve poems included in this book. The first four poems were originally unpublished and those are about his personal feeling and his life. Then the two new aboriginal poems were included. Six of them were rewritten poems which had been published in his other works. Also, the poem published before named Debutantes was rewritten and mentioned in this book.

Francis said the reason why he edited this collection is because he wanted to collect Devaney’s unpublished but fine poems before they were lost. Also, he included prose addenda that what others wrote about Devaney in a letter form on the last few pages of the book. Most of them were Devaney’s friends and they had their comments on not only Devaney himself but also what they think about his work.

The poem Debutantes was specially written by Devaney for the Debutantes' Ball at Crow's Nest (Parish of Reverend Father Leo Hayes), Queensland, and put into print in a limited edition of seventy copies by John Gartner of The Hawthorn Press. It is a volume of wistful, pensive and melodious lyrics..Devaney has rewritten the poem and it was included in the collection Towards Evening .

Works for James Devaney

Since Devaney was a great influence for other young writers, some of his friends and fans had written poems dedicated to Devaney and praised his works. There are two poems that were published in the journal article, Vista, named Ballad for our oldest and most famous member by Martin Haley and Where the wind goes there will I follow: For James Devaney on his eightieth birthday written by Paula Fitzgerald. The other two of them were published in another journal article, Scope by Bertha Butler and Martin Haley. The poems were named To James Devaney" and To James Devaney 80 on 31/05/70.

The poems can be found in:

• Haley, Martin. "Ballad for our oldest and most famous member". Vista 13.3(1976): 7. Print.

• Fitzgerald, Paula. "Where the wind goes there will I follow: For James Devaney on his eightieth birthday". Vista Aug (1970): 5. Print.

• Butler, Bertha. "To James Devaney". Scope 15.6 (1970): 4. Print.

• Haley, Martin. "To James Devaney 80 on 31/05/70". (source missing) 15.8(1970): 3. Print.

List of works

Poetry

• Fabian (1923)

• Earth Kindred (1931)

• Dark Road (1938)

• Where the Wind Goes (1939)

• Debutantes (1939)

• Poems (1950)

Novels

• The Currency Lass : A Tale of the Convict Days (1927)

• The Vanished Tribes (1929)

• Washdirt: A Novel of Old Bendigo (1946)

• The New Law (1955)

Biography

• Shaw Neilson (1944)

• Unpublished poems of Shaw Neilson (1947)

Criticism

• Poetry in Our Time: A Review of Contemporary Values (1952)

Death

File:James Devaney burial record.jpg

James Devaney's burial record

James Devaney passed away in 1976 in Brisbane, at the age of 86 and was buried in the Redcliffe Cemtary (Mortan Bay Region Cemeteries Database).

People he was associated with

James Devaney’s literary milieu has made a big influence in the Australian literary scene and his work plays an important role in teaching future writers about the art of Australian writing.

Devaney gathered the inspiration for his work from various writers such as; William Blake, who was an English poet, painter and printmaker . He wrote many visionally inspired pieces such as the Poetical Sketches (1783) collection, All Religions Are One (1788) and The marriage of Heaven and Hell (1970). His work influenced Devaney with regards to writing for the passion and truth, instead of popularity. Blake was also a religious visionary and his beliefs and style seemed to be similar to that of Devaney’s, himself. .

Comparable to Blake, John Jackson Hardie was also a visionary writer. Although instead of writing in relations to religious values, he wrote about nature, specifically farming aspects. Hardie had a good understanding of agricultural values and with that contributed various journals and columns to the Bulletin's “Man of the Land” segment. Devaney admired Hardie’s ability to create visional images with his words, bringing the Australian landscape to life on the page .

The great John Shaw Neilson (Shaw Neilson), considered Australia’s finest lyrical poet and contributed to the Sydney Bulletin; writing little verses and limericks was admired by Devaney, as a writer and had the honour of meeting him in 1934 , when Neilson was working as a messenger at the Victorian Country Road Board in Melbourne . Neilson and Devaney became very close friends and after Neilson passed away in 1942, Devaney then became his biographer & editor .

Devaney admired Robert Southwell (Jesuit), who was an English poet and martyr, but more well known as a Jesuit priest and missionary . Devaney was particularly influenced by his religious poetry .

Devaney was good friends with various other writers such as; Martin Nelson Haley, who is a known translator, poet and writer . Haley was involved with the Catholic Leader and various Catholic societies such as the Catholic Poetry Society of Queensland (link) and is also the editor of the literary journal, Vista , which Devaney was also associated with. Such friendship may have sparked due to these encounters.

Francis Charles Cranny (Francis Cranny), had helped Devaney edit his piece, Towards Evening and Devaney has helped him with his musical work, alongside Shaw Neilson and Fay Hobday . Such friendship may have been sparked when Cranny was a member of the Queensland Authors and Artists Association (link) and was also involved with the Catholic Writers Movement (link) .

Paul Langton Grano (Paul Grano), a known poetry writer for the Bulletin and also contributed to the Brisbane Catholic Advocate and Vista is also another good friend of Devaney. Grano also supported Devaney through his illness back in 1945 and after his death, published a broadshide poem entitled, To Jim Devaney in Reading “Earth Kindred” (1937) .

James Devaney’s work has influenced many young writers such as; Clement Byrne Christesen (Clem Christesen), the founding editor of the Australian literary magazine, Meanjin, which was first published in 1940 until 1974 . A magazine that Devaney worked very closely with. In Hadgraft’s article A Tribute to James Devaney, Christesen states that Devaney has had an influence in his life, and it was because of Devaney that Christesen took up an interest in Australian Literature .

Beryl Llywelyn Lucas, a playwright and freelance journalist who was known for writing humourous pieces such as Sentence of Death (1927), Peter (1926) and Aunt Florie’s Homecoming (1926) . Regarded as her mentor, Devaney respected her talent, even though she used unconventional ways of writing her literature, but still considered her to be a good minor poet .

Pat Galligan was a minor poet, who was influenced by Deaveny’s poems. Though he later died in an air-raid over Berlin but had sent his Manuscripts to Devaney .

Kathleen Jean Mary Walker or Oodgeroo Noonuccal is one of Australia’s most respected poet, educator and political activists, highly involved in the Aboriginal movement. Noonuccal mentions that Devaney was one of her mentor’s ; his passion and dedication to the Aboriginal People had influenced her to get involved to fight for the rights of her people .

Gwen Belson Taylor is a reporter and occasional feature writer for the Daily Telegraph. She admired Devaney, who encouraged her to pursue her literary career . In dedication to him, she wrote Vale, Old Sailor that appeared in The Stars Look Down (1981) .

Other people associates include Judith Wright, Joseph Lewis O’Dwyer, Rex Ingamells, Joan Andrews, Maureen Stewart and Brunton Stephens.

Full Bibliography Reference

• “Aboriginal Legends”. The Brisbane Courier 6 April (1929): 24. Print.

• “Abo. Tales”. The Bulletin 50.2572 29 May (1929): 5. Print.

• "A Poet Who Sings." The Mail 6 Jan (1940): 13. Web.

• Boldrewood, Rolf. "A critical study". Brisbane Courier 23 Feb (1924): 17. Print.

• "Books and Writers." The Queenslander 24 Nov (1927): 15. Web.

• Butler, Bertha. “To James Devaney”. Scope 15.6 July (1970):4. Print.

• Catalano, Gary. “James Devaney”. Quadrant 45.9 Sep (2001): 66-69. Print.

• “Delightful Stories of the Australian Aboriginal”. All About Books 1.5 18 April (1929): 157. Print.

• Devaney, James. Dark Road. Hawthorn East, Victoria: The Hawthorn Press, privately printed, 1938. Print.

• Devaney, James. Earth Kindred. Melbourne: F. Wilmot, 1931. Print.

• Devaney, James. Fabian. Melbourne: Lothian Book Pub. Co., 1923. Print.

• Devaney, James. “One of the Rare People James Devaney Recalls Shaw Neilson”. Makar 8.2 (1972): 27-30. Print.

• Devaney, James. Poems. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1950. Print.

• Devaney, James. “Poetry of Experiment: The challenge to the traditional”. The Catholic Leader 11 Jan (1940): 8. Print.

• Devaney, James. Poetry in Our Time: A review of Contemporary Values. Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 1952. Print.

• Devaney, James. Shaw Neilson. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1944. Print.

• Devaney, James. The currency lass: a tale of the convict days. Sydney: Cornstalk, 1927. Print.

• Devaney, James. The New Law. Brisbane: Queensland Authors and Artists Association, 1955. Print.

• Devaney, James. The Vanished Tribes. Sydney: Cornstalk, 1929. Print.

• Devaney, James, eds. Unpublished poems of Shaw Neilson. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1947. Print.

• Devaney, James. “Visit to the U.S.S.R”. Overland 15 Winter (1959): 46. Print.

• Devaney, James. Where the wind goes. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1939. Print.

• “Fabian: A New Australian Poet”. The Artesian 5 Oct (1923): 21. Print.

• “Fabian’s New Poems”. The Brisbane Courier 12 Sep (1931): 18. Print.

• Fitzgerald, Paula. “Where the Wind Goes There Will I Follow: For James Devaney on his Eightyth Birthday”. Vista Aug (1970): 5. Print.

• Fitzgerald, Robert D. “Writer and Reader: Modern Ecstasy”. Southerly 14.4 (1953): 252-256. Print.

• "Flashback to the things that irked". The Daily News 29 Nov 6.1 (1947). Web.

• Francis, F.C. eds. Towards evening. Brisbane: s.n., 1974. Print.

• "From a Sanatorium”. The Daily New 24 Aug (1923): 3.8. Web.

• “From James Devaney – Venture”. Jindyworobak Quarterly Pamphlet 1.3 (1939): 7. Print.

• Grano, Paul L. "James Devaney: Poet "where the wind goes." The Catholic Leader 14 Dec (1939):8. Print.

• Green, Henry M. An Outline of Australian Literature. Whitecombe and Tombs, 1930. Print.

• Green, Henry. M. A history of Australian literature : pure and applied: A critical review of all forms of literature produced in Australia from the first books published after the arrival of the First Fleet until 1950, with short accounts of later publications up to 1960. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1961. Print.

• Haley, Martin. “Ballad for Our Oldest and Most Famous Member”. Vista 13.8 Sep (1976): 7. Print.

• Haley, Martin. "James Devaney: Veteran of Australian letters". The Leader 28 Feb (1971): 6. Print.

• Haley, Martin. "James Devaney was 'poet souled’”. The Leader 29 Aug (1976): 9. Print.

• Haley, Martin. “James Martin Devaney (1890-1976)”. Phoenix Australia 8 (1977): 75-79. Print.

• Haley, Martin. "James Martin Devaney bibliography". LiNQ 12.1-3(1984): 83-109. Print.

• Haley, Martin. "Poetry in our time". The Catholic Leader 31 July (1952):8. Print.

• Haley, Martin. “To Jim Devaney 80 on 31/5/70”. Scope 15.8 Sep (1970): 3. Print.

• Hadgraft, Cecil. “A Tribute to James Devaney”. Meanjin Quarterly 24. 2 (1965): 214-221. Web.

• Hadgraft, Cecil. “A Tribute to James Devaney”. Meanjin Quarterly 24 (1965): 215-21. Print.

• Hatherell, William. “James Devaney and the Brisbane resistance to modernism”. Queensland Review 11.2 Dec (2004): 25-39. Web.

• Ivor, Indy K. “John Shaw Neilson”. The Times Literary Supplement 5124 15 Jun (2001): 22. Print.

• “James Devaney”. The Brisbane Courier 5 Nov (1927): 21. Print.

• "James Devaney". The Queenslander 17 Sep (1931): 44. Web.

• “James Devaney”. The Queenslander 17 Sep (1931): 44. Print.

• “Modern Poetry”. The Bulletin 74. 3807 28 Jan (1953): 2, 35. Print.

• "More Shaw Neilson". The Argus 22 Nov (1947): 42. Web.

• "New Fiction". The Sydney Morning Herald 23 Aug (1947): 10. Web.

• "Our Naturalist Poet". The Courier-Mail 2 Dec (1939): 4. Web.

• “Outstanding Publisher’s Folly”. The Austrovert 8 (1952): 3, 6. Print.

• "Poems of a nature lover". Advocate 10 Sep (1931):1. Print.

• “Poet and Author Dies in Brisbane”. The Sydney Morning Herald 17 Aug (1976): 13. Print.

• “Quick looks at New Books”. The Courier-Mail 12 July (1952): 2. Print.

• "Reviews of New Books". The Advertiser 20 Dec (1947): 12. Web.

• S.E.N. “[untitled]”. The Sydney Mail 20 March (1929): 23. Print.

• “Stories of Old Times”. The Brisbane Courier 18 May (1929): 25. Print.

• "The book browser". The Argus 19 Jul (1947): 39. Web.

• “The Modern Schism in Poetry”. Meanjin 11.4 Summer (1952): 391-396. Print.

• "The Vanished Tribes". The Brisbane Courier 18 May (1929): 25. Web.

• “[untitled]”. The Australian Woman’s Mirror 5.31 25 Jun (1929): 24. Print.

• “[untitled]”. The Daily Mail 11 May (1929): 25. Print.

• “[untitled]”. The Queenslander 28 July (1923): 3. Print.

• “[untitled]”. The Times Literary Supplement 2 Aug (1923): 523. Print.

• “[untitled]”. The Times Literary Supplement 14 Nov (1929): 928. Print.

• “[untitled]”. The Wentworth Magazine 5.1 Jun (1929): 29. Print.