Alan Marshall

Alan Marshall (2 May 1902--21 January 1984) was an Australian writer, story teller and social documentor.

Related Topics:
2 May - 1902 - 21 January - 1984 - Australian - Writer

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His best known book, I can Jump Puddles (1955) is the first of a three part autobiography. The other two are This is the Grass (1962) and In my Own Heart (1963). When he was six years old he contracted polio which left him with a physical disability that worsed as he grew older. From an early age, Marshall resolved to be a writer, and in I can Jump Puddles he demonstrated an almost total recall of his childhood in Noorat, Victoria. The characters and places of his book are thinly disguised real people. Mount Turalla is Mount Noorat, Lake Turalla is Lake Keilambete, the Curruthers are the Blacks, and his best friend Joe is Leo Carmody.

Related Topics:
1955 - 1962 - 1963 - Noorat, Victoria

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Alan Marshall wrote numerous short stories, mainly set in the bush. He also wrote newspaper columns and magazine articles. He travelled widely in Australia and overseas. He was one of the first non-aborigine writers to publish stories about Australian Aboriginals and transcribe their legends.

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Alan Marshall died in Melbourne.

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