Douglas Stewart

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[edit] Biography

Douglas Stewart (6 May 1913—14 Feb 1985)was a twentieth century Australian poet.

Douglas Stewart was born in Eltham, Taranaki Province, New Zealand, the son of a lawyer. He attended primary school in his home town, and a high school thirty miles away, before studying at the University of Wellington. He began studying law there, but soon changed courses to major in writing and journalism.

As a young boy, Stewart fell in love with the New Zealand countryside. He roamed its valleys, rivers and mountains, often camping out and frequently indulging his love of fishing. This appreciation of the wonders of nature was to last throughout his lifetime, so that in 1938, when he moved to Australia, it was understandable that he would begin a rest-of-life appreciation of the Australian bush in all its uniqueness. This he sought to capture in his poetry.

Stewart wrote his first poetry at fourteen years of age, while he still lived in New Zealand. He began initially because of the need to produce a poem for his school magazine, but his love for reading and writing poetry developed rapidly. He read widely, including Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Milton and Coleridge, enjoying their ability to compact powerful description into language, and to convey emotion through sound, rhythm and word selection. As he read he worked on his own writing. His father was a subscriber to The Bulletin from Australia and the young Stewart regularly sent poems to that magazine, the vast majority of which were rejected. However, he had the thrill of seeing some of his poems published in a companion magazine, The Australian Women’s Mirror, as well as newspapers and magazines in New Zealand. This encouraged him to continue.

After his university studies, Stewart worked as a journalist in New Zealand in the early 1930s. In 1936, he published his first volume of poems, Green Lions, before moving permanently to Australia in 1938 to become Assistant Literary Editor of The Bulletin. Two years later he was appointed Literary Editor and he retained this position for the next twenty years.

The years working for The Bulletin were immensely productive years, both on a personal level and because of his contribution to the Australian literary and artistic movement. His contemporaries included a number of young poets such as Judith Wright and James McAuley. The Bulletin, Meanjin and Southerly were significant magazines for promoting the poetic achievement of these writers and for establishing a cultural milieu in which a younger breed of poets like Rosemary Dobson, William Hart-Smith and David Campbell could refine their skills.

Stewart is recognized as a major Australian poet, but more than a poet. He stands out as one who has made a significant contribution through his poetry, his verse-plays for radio (Fire on the Snow and Ned Kelly being the best known), his short stories and his critical essays. Geoffrey Serle, literary critic, has described Stewart as "the greatest all-rounder of modern Australian literature".

During his editorship with The Bulletin, Stewart published six volumes of his own poems and co-edited two books of Australian poetry, as well as produced a number of verse-plays and a volume of short stories. He received a number of awards in recognition of his achievements, the most significant being the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1960. From 1960 onwards he took a position as a Literary Editor with Angus and Robertson, continuing to write, edit and critique particularly in the area of poetry. He died in 1985, one of Australia’s best-known and widely recognized poets.

Persondata
NAME	Stewart, Douglas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Twentieth century Australian poet
DATE OF BIRTH	6 May 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH	Eltham, Taranaki Province, New Zealand
DATE OF DEATH	14 Feb 1985
PLACE OF DEATH	Australia