Vance Palmer (1885–1959,) fully Edward Vivian Palmer, was an Australian novelist, dramatist, essayist, and critic. Renowned as a pioneer of Australian drama, his work is distinguished by its precise language and frequent use of understatement.
Born in Bundaberg, Queensland, Palmer began publishing in English magazines at 17 and went to London two years later, where he achieved some success. After returning via Finland, Russia, Siberia, and the East, he worked various jobs in the Australian outback before resuming writing. He later traveled to London and America and served with Australian forces in World War I. From 1922 to 1926, he helped establish the Pioneer Players in Melbourne, a company focused on Australian drama.
Palmer’s notable novels include The Passage (1930,) which explores family dynamics in Queensland, and Golconda (1948,) the first in a political trilogy. His other novels include Seedtime (1957) and The Big Fellow (1959.) He also wrote plays on political themes and published four volumes of short stories, including Separate Lives (1931) and Sea and Spinifex (1934.) His poetry and essays further contributed to his literary legacy.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Vance Palmer
The truth is that literature, particularly fiction, is not the pure medium we sometimes assume it to be. Response to it is affected by things other than its own intrinsic quality; by a curiosity or lack of it about the people it deals with, their outlook, their way of life.
—Vance Palmer
Topics: Literature, Books
It is the business of thought to define things, to find the boundaries; thought, indeed, is a ceaseless process of definition. It is the business of Art to give things shape. Anyone who takes no delight in the firm outline of an object, or in its essential character, has no artistic sense. He cannot even be nourished by Art. Like Ephraim, he feeds upon the East wind, which has no boundaries.
—Vance Palmer
Topics: Perception
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