Patrick White

Patrick White (May 28, 1912 – September 30, 1990) was an Australian author. His writings make great use of the stream of consciousness technique. His first book, "The Ploughman and Other Poems", was published in 1935, and he went on to write 27 novels and eight plays. He received the 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature - the only Australian to be so honoured.

Travelling the world

White spent two years working as a jackaroo at Bolaro, a 73 km² station on the edge of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales. His parents felt that he should work on the land rather than become a writer; they hoped that once he became a jackaroo, his artistic ambitions would fade. White grew to respect the land, and his health started to improve. However, it was clear that he was not cut out for this life.

Related Topics:
Jackaroo - Snowy Mountains - New South Wales

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From 1932 to 1935, White lived in England, studying French and German literature at King's College, Cambridge. He did not enjoy his first term there, because he fell in love with a young man who had come to King's to become an Anglican priest, but dared not speak of his feelings for fear of losing the friendship. Like many homosexual men of that period, he feared that his sexuality would doom him to a lonely life. Then one night, the student priest, after an awkward liaison with two women, admitted to White that women meant nothing to him sexually; this became White?s first love affair.

Related Topics:
King's College, Cambridge - Homosexual

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While at Cambridge University, a collection of his poems was published under the title The Ploughman and Other Poems, and wrote a play that was performed by an amateur group. White received his Bachelor of Arts in 1935, and briefly settled in London, where he lived in an area that was frequented by artists. Here, he thrived for a time, writing several unpublished works and reworking a novel, Happy Valley, that he had written while jackarooing. In 1937, White?s father died, leaving him ten thousand pounds. This enabled him to write full-time in relative comfort. Two more plays followed, before he succeeded in finding a publisher for Happy Valley. The novel was well received in London, but poorly received in Australia. He wrote another novel, Nightside, but abandoned it after receiving negative comments. He later spoke of regretting that he had not finished it.

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Towards the end of the 1930s, White spent some time in the United States, including Cape Cod, Massachusetts and New York City, where he wrote The Living and the Dead. By the time World War II broke out, he had returned to London and joined the Royal Air Force. He was accepted as an intelligence officer, and was posted to the Middle East. He served in Egypt, Palestine and Greece before the war was over. While in the Middle East, he had an affair with an officer, Manoly Lascaris, who was to become his life partner.

Related Topics:
Cape Cod - Massachusetts - New York City - World War II - Royal Air Force - Middle East - Egypt - Palestine - Greece

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