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poetry in
Chinese fancy dress. It is English poetry which has enlarged its resources by an intellectual penetration of and an artistic comprehension of another culture. . . I am struck by the mastery, the justice and the originality of movement." Similarly, Kelvin Lancaster, in 1949, argues that even though Stewart appears derivative, excoriating him for adopting the "irresponsible style of Rimbaud," his poetry provides an original and distinct contribution to Australian poetry: "As it is, his brilliant style and versatile direction are a distinct contribution toward brightening the too often pallid and anaemic style of Australian poetry. With an originality of thought equal to his powers of expression, Mr Stewart could become the major Australian poet of the younger generation." Stewart was sixty-three years old and obviously excluded from claiming to be part the younger generation when his youthful promise belatedly reached its potential with the publication of
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Despite his reserved social demeanour, and without the spur of alcohol as he rarely drank, he appeared forthcoming in conversation, though he had good reason to guard against revealing the more libertine details of his personal life. In a letter to
Michael Heyward, Stewart discussed this social life: "... back in the later 1930's, I had met Alec Hope and he along with Jim and other literary friends used to meet on Saturday afternoons at Sherry's Coffee Shop in Pitt Street Sydney to discuss literary topics and improvise light verse, usually of a satirical nature".
483:
full-time employment as a distraction, he embarked upon his chosen career path, spending many hours at the Sydney Public
Library copying his favourite poems in long hand. In a letter to Michael Heyward, he wrote: "The period between leaving Sydney University and joining the Army was that period during which I worked through many modern influences, getting lost in the wilderness, stuck up blind alleys, and finding my way out of them".
252:
77:
518:. Discretion about his sexuality was exercised after the final years of high school when accusations about his sexual orientation were made, forcing him to shelter his private life from scrutiny by developing a poetic persona as his public face. It is within this environment of intolerance that he had to appear as if poetry, not marriage and raising a family, was his main priority.
963:(Melbourne, William Heinemann, 1991), edited by Robert Gray and Geoffrey Lehmann, pp. 170–175. When first published by H.M. Green in Australian Poetry 1943, the poem was titled 'The Leaf-Marker, though its title was subsequently altered in Phoenix Wings to 'The Leaf-maker' and then to 'The Leaf-makers' in Douglas Stewart's anthology. Kinsella's anthology adopts the same title.
36:
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writes: ". . . the verse rises to a solemn incantatory splendour quite unparalleled in verse written by an
Australian." A.D. Hope was the first critic to acknowledge Stewart's skill in marrying Eastern philosophies with the Western narrative form. He writes: This is not chinoiserie, it is not English
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subject matter, making
Stewart the first poet to embrace gay subject matter in Australia - although the closeted Stewart might have rejected being labelled Australia's first gay poet. In the 1950s he encrypted his poetry with personal homoerotic subject matter and also added other gay subject matter
777:
Ethel Malley in a letter to 'The
Editors,' 28 October 1943, Ern Malley Collected Poems, p.1. Stewart included the small incidental detail which provided enough background information so that Harris could imagine Ethel's social circumstances. She writes: "When I was going through my brother's things
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Stewart died in Kyoto on 7 August 1995 after a short illness. A Shin
Buddhist ceremony was conducted for him. His body was cremated and his ashes scattered on his beloved Higashiyama mountains. He left a sum of money (about AU$ 250,000), some of which was intended to fund the publishing of his last
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During the 1950s he worked at specialist bookshop in
Melbourne, the Norman Robb Bookshop in Little Collins Street, and collected many of the Eastern books he would subsequently take to Japan. Many of these books are now currently for sale online after his nephew sold the collection. Noel Tovey in
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at Fort Street and the budding poets shared a common interest in literature which provided the foundation for the exchange of ideas and the opportunity to develop a friendship. McAuley won the school Poetry Prize in 1933, while
Stewart achieved the same honour in the two years that followed. In a
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provides a brief portrait of
Stewart when both men lived in Melbourne, though Tovey's chronology of events is dubious as he states Stewart had recently returned from Kyoto. Stewart's first visit to Japan, however, was in 1961 and not during the 1950s as Tovey states. Given Tovey would have been
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This period served as an apprenticeship of sorts, suiting his introspective personality, though he did not abandon his social life completely and continued to gather with university friends in coffee shops and bars around Sydney to discuss literature and listen as they read their latest works.
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was abandoned before his second year for the less certain but more enticing career of a poet. "I found the courses ... arid and boring to distraction," he recalls. His ambition to become a poet gathered momentum during high school and after completing his final year, and without university or
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priest only to withdraw at the last minute. It was rumoured he did not want to have his hair shaven. He returned to Australia and later enticed Masaaki, the Japanese man he had fallen in love with, to visit. Masaaki claims to have built the first Japanese-style garden in Australia in the
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does more justice to Stewart's legacy in both its accurate portrayal of him as a person and the chronology of events. At this stage he begins to move away from the Traditionalist writers he had been studying and increasingly pursues Japanese Buddhism and researching
568:, into believing that Ern's sister, Ethel, had found an unpublished manuscript while sorting through her brother's personal belongings after his premature death at the age of twenty-five from the usually non-fatal hyperthyroid condition known as
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in 'Prelude: On the Quay,' written in the last year of high school, demonstrates that music was a formative poetic influence and one that provided a sense of organisation for his later poetry, which is most apparent in the
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fifteen or sixteen at the time, it implies Stewart was a paedophile, which was never the case and demonstrates how dangerous it is for reputation when hazy memory parades as biographical fact. Peter Kelly's
728:, but none of the money was used for this purpose. His sister was one of the executors of the will and inherited all the funds except for a separate benefice to his nephew from the above amount.
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consists of twelve poems in rhyming couplets celebrating Kyoto's landmarks and antiquities, and Stewart's own spiritual pilgrimage into Buddhism. The poems are accompanied by a prose commentary.
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after his death, I found some poetry he had written. I am no judge of it myself, but a friend who I showed it to thinks it is very good and told me it should be published." Leonie Kramer in
506:, though Sasha Soldatow was the first to publish the secret about Stewart's private life in 1996. Most of his friends were aware that Stewart made his way to the bohemian inner suburb of
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was an early metaphysical influence and it was by way of Jung's commentaries on oriental texts that he discovered the 'Traditionalist' school of writers. He also immersed himself in
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615:. He published two haiku volumes in the 1960s, which, although popular and reprinted for nearly twenty years, have recently been subjected to some excellent technical analysis by
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poetry is remembered according to several critics. Heyward describes his poetry as "gorgeous, adjectival, multi-faceted like cut jewels, sculpted into tableaux and set pieces."
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The sad and unforgiving truth for Stewart is that Ern Malley not only haunted his career but also eclipsed his other poetry, though this should not be the manner in which his
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under the guise of Greek mythology. Stewart always remained discreet about his personal life except to his close personal friends, from whom he expected respect and secrecy.
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While his former classmates engaged his intellect and wit, he had other friends entertaining more than just his mind. He refrained from publicly disclosing his
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and was intimately acquainted with its temples, gardens, palaces and works of art. He became fascinated with Japanese poetry and published two translations of
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957:(South Australia, Oxford University Press, 1986 and in the third edition a year after his death in 1996), selected by Les Murray, pp. 202–203
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to discuss modern art, though, at the time, many were probably unaware that he also went there to pursue sexual relations with artists
782:(1981), p. 371, grades the literary quality of Ethel's letters as equal to those of Patrick White, Peter Porter and Barry Humphries.
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939:(Victoria, Penguin, 1972), edited by Harry Heseltine, pp. 265–266, which has Stewart's birth year incorrectly stated as 1913,
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or Augustian movement in poetry, but his choice of subject matter is different in that he concentrates on writing long
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describes Stewart as an accomplished verbal artist and an innovator in rhythm. In relation to his Buddhist poetry,
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951:(Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1980, reprinted 1981), edited by Chris Wallace-Crabbe, pp. 98–106
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letter to Michael Heyward, he writes: "Jim and I were not good friends at Fort Street, but rather rivals".
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that states a Knowledge (XXG) editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.
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grades the literary quality of Ethel's (Malley's supposed elder sister) letters as equal to those of
897:(Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1946, reprinted 1952) selected by H.M. Green, pp. 57–64
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Fort Street was established in 1850 as an academically selective public high school reserved for
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945:(Canberra, Australian National University Press, 1975), edited by Rosemary Dobson, p. 16
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at the age of fifteen in 1932. Before attending Fort Street he studied the trumpet at the
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and provided translations of their work in his first volume of poetry. He also favoured
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903:(Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1951), selected by Rosemary Dobson, pp. 37–39
915:(Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1955), selected by James McAuley, pp. 69–70
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921:(Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1956), selected by A.A. Philips, pp. 18–19
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Stewart originally wrote "The Kavi" for a collection of monographs titled
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He also devoted a great deal of time to collaborating with his teachers,
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Damaged men: the precarious lives of James McAuley and Harold Stewart
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He visited Japan in 1961 and then again in 1963 to be ordained as a
262:(14 December 1916 – 7 August 1995) was an Australian
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The Golden Apples of the Sun: Twentieth Century Australian Poetry
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to which he had converted. He became an expert on the history of
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884:(Melbourne, Penguin, 2009), 'The Leaf-makers', pp. 183–184
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had on shaping the affective Gothic mood of his early poetry.
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564:, the young leader of the modernist movement, and his fellow
544:. In 1943, while at the Army Barracks, he collaborated with
826:(ed. S. Durai), Raja Singam, Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia, 1977.
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personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay
753:"Papers of Harold Stewart, 1933-1995 [manuscript]"
23:. For the British pharmacologist and medical author, see
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Before his death Stewart's poetry was anthologised in
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Harold Stewart Papers - National Library of Australia
691:(1969) which proved popular with the reading public.
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Stewart's work has been associated with McAuley and
667:. In 1966 he left Australia to live permanently in
101:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
671:. He devoted himself to studying the doctrines of
467:(1956), was strongly influenced by Jungian ideas.
392:thematic structure of his spiritual autobiography
270:. He is chiefly remembered alongside fellow poet
943:Australian Voices: Poetry and Prose of the 1970s
296:, combining Eastern subject matter with his own
642:To catch their wordless meaning, out of reach,
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859:literary journal; (2017 reprint) Los Angeles:
634:Through all the poet's songs in every tongue.
415:He had an early interest in French symbolists
1088:Australian military personnel of World War II
996:, by Michael Ackland, Allen & Unwin, 2001
8:
1018:Essay on Harold Stewart's Metaphysical Poems
646:Yet verse attempts to sing that music here,
478:Stewart's enrolment in a teaching course at
968:The Oxford History of Australian Literature
780:The Oxford History of Australian Literature
333:The Oxford History of Australian Literature
64:Learn how and when to remove these messages
1103:People educated at Fort Street High School
1023:Harold Stewart's Writings on Shin Buddhism
970:(Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1981)
961:Australian Poetry in The Twentieth Century
323:, many examples have been retained by the
638:Where all His perfect poems are composed
636:How rarely is that magic world disclosed
237:Learn how and when to remove this message
219:Learn how and when to remove this message
161:Learn how and when to remove this message
19:For the Australian rules footballer, see
552:, which aimed to expose the excesses of
315:but described himself as a conservative
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955:The New Oxford Book of Australian Verse
824:Builder – A study of a Scholar-Colossus
744:
644:Before the moment's wonders disappear!
1002:, by Peter Kelly, self-published, 2007
1063:Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni
983:(Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1961)
648:Vainly translated into human speech.
640:Already, waiting for some poet's ear
632:There is One Poet only, who has sung
502:and Michael Ackland reiterated it in
435:. Other major influences include the
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1083:20th-century Australian male writers
937:The Penguin Book of Australian Verse
99:adding citations to reliable sources
16:Australian poet and oriental scholar
1093:20th-century Australian LGBT people
542:St Kilda Road Barracks in Melbourne
981:A History of Australian Literature
536:, he worked in Army Intelligence (
14:
731:Stewart's high school poetry has
381:Sydney Conservatorium High School
45:This article has multiple issues.
907:An Anthology of Australian Verse
849:Ern Malley (Harold Stewart with
822:Ananda Coomaraswamy - The Bridge
371:, and his father, employed as a
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86:needs additional citations for
53:or discuss these issues on the
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1073:20th-century Australian poets
494:while alive. After his death
367:. He came from a comfortable
1058:English-language haiku poets
596:The middle years - Melbourne
461:Phoenix Wings: Poems 1940-46
325:National Library in Canberra
653:Harold Stewart (1977)
500:The Devil and James McAuley
307:He is usually described by
21:Harold Stewart (footballer)
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901:Australian Poetry 1949-50
696:By the Old Walls of Kyoto
590:By the Old Walls of Kyoto
407:students. He got to know
394:By the Old Walls of Kyoto
895:Modern Australian Poetry
463:(1948). A later volume,
311:as a traditionalist and
260:Harold Frederick Stewart
931:Modern Australian Verse
465:Orpheus and Other Poems
383:. A subtitle honouring
377:Fort Street High School
369:middle-class background
319:. A witty and engaging
274:as a co-creator of the
1068:Australian gay writers
925:Australian Poetry 1960
919:Australian Poetry 1956
913:Australian Poetry 1955
846:The Darkening Ecliptic
794:The Darkening Ecliptic
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199:by rewriting it in an
25:Harold Charles Stewart
1098:Australian LGBT poets
1078:Australian male poets
726:Autumn Landscape Roll
558:The Ern Malley Affair
522:The Ern Malley Affair
405:intellectually gifted
300:journey to shape the
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1053:Australian Buddhists
1048:Converts to Buddhism
1000:Buddha in a Bookshop
792:Malley, Ern (2017).
757:catalogue.nla.gov.au
689:A Chime of Windbells
608:Buddha in A Bookshop
603:Little Black Bastard
351:Early life in Sydney
95:improve this article
853:, 1944) Melbourne:
623:Later life in Japan
425:American modernists
685:A Net of Fireflies
554:literary modernism
441:William Wordsworth
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201:encyclopedic style
188:is written like a
975:Australian Poetry
889:Australian Poetry
882:Australian Poetry
869:978-1-55713-439-4
807:978-1-55713-439-4
480:Sydney University
417:Stéphane Mallarmé
398:French Symbolists
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294:narrative poems
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44:
1043:1995 deaths
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973:Paul Kane,
875:Anthologies
724:long poem,
687:(1960) and
532:During the
508:Kings Cross
504:Damaged Men
453:Chinese art
421:Paul Valéry
1032:Categories
740:References
733:homoerotic
665:Dandenongs
628:"The Kavi"
581:H.M. Green
562:Max Harris
550:Ern Malley
528:Ern Malley
445:John Keats
429:Hart Crane
390:fugue-like
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276:Ern Malley
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988:About
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427:like
142:JSTOR
128:books
865:ISBN
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765:2018
705:and
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