Judah Waten

Judah Leon Waten AM (29 July 1911 – 29 July 1985) was an Australian novelist who was at one time seen as the voice of Australian migrant writing.

Judah Waten
BornJudah Leon Waten
(1911-07-29)29 July 1911
Odessa, Russian Empire
Died29 July 1985(1985-07-29) (aged 74)
Melbourne, Australia
OccupationWriter, novelist
NationalityAustralian
Notable worksAlien Son (1952)
Distant Land (1964)

Life and career

Born in Odessa to a Russian-Jewish family, Judah Waten arrived in Western Australia in 1914.[1] He attended Christian Brothers' College, Perth and, moving to Melbourne in 1926, University High School, Melbourne. He joined the Communist Party of Australia while still at school.[2] Between 1931 and 1933, he visited Europe, became engaged in left-wing political activities in England, and spent three months in Wormwood Scrubs Prison.

He wrote novels, short stories and a history of the Great Depression in Australia. His best-known work is a collection of autobiographical short stories, Alien Son, first published in 1952. He travelled to the Soviet Union several times, once with Manning Clark. He was involved in the Realist Writers Group, International PEN, the Fellowship of Australian Writers and served on the Literature Board of the Australia Council.

In 1967, he became a member of the National Committee of the Communist Party. However, he left the party in 1972 to join the pro-Soviet Socialist Party of Australia.[2]

In 1985 he died in Melbourne.

Honours and awards

In 1979 he was awarded membership of the Order of Australia.[3]

In 1985 he was posthumously awarded the Patrick White Award.

Bibliography

Novels

  • Alien Son (Angus & Robertson, 1952)
  • The Unbending (Australasian Book Society, 1954)
  • Shares in Murder (Australasian Book Society, 1957)
  • Time of Conflict (Australasian Book Society, 1961)
  • Distant Land (F. W. Cheshire, 1964)
  • Season of Youth (F. W. Cheshire, 1966)
  • So Far No Further (Wren Publishing, 1971)
  • Scenes of Revolutionary Life (Angus & Robertson, 1982)

Non-fiction

  • The Depression Years, 1929-1939 (F. W. Cheshire, 1971, Australia Since the Camera series)

Memoir

  • From Odessa to Odessa: The Journey of an Australian Writer (F. W. Cheshire, 1969)
  • "My two literary careers", essay (Southerly, 1971)
  • "Why I came home - naked - fifty years ago", essay (The Bulletin, 24 April 1984)

References
  1. "Waten, Judah / Papers (National Library of Aus.) - Biographical Note". National Library of Australia. n.d. Archived from the original on 13 February 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  2. Carter, David. "Judah Waten". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  3. It's an Honour: AM

Further reading


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