Guide to the Papers of Judah Waten, 1912 - 1985

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Summary

Collection number:
MS 4536
Creator:
Waten, Judah, 1911-1985
Extent:
7.25 metres and (39 boxes + 2 folio boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Judah Waten, National Library of Australia, MS 4536, [series /or file number]'.
Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Part available for research ; part not available for research until 1 January 2015.

Background

Content Summary:

The papers comprise family correspondence, general correspondence, handwritten and typed drafts (including the original sketches for many of his stories and the drafts of three novels which were never completed), notebooks of articles and book reviews, newspaper cuttings, invitations, printed material and other papers. There are also papers relating to Waten's membership of the Literature Board of the Australian Council for the Arts, his Presidency of the Melbourne Centre of International P.E.N. papers on his membership of the Communist Party of Australia and Socialist Party of Australia.

Correspondents include Alice Waten, Alan Marshall, Elizabeth Harrower, Christina Stead, Derek Whitelock, Oksana Krugerskaya, Kylie Tennant, Katharine Susannah Prichard, Nettie and Vance Palmer, Hal Porter, Beatrice Davis, Geoffrey Dutton, Frank Dalby Davison, Tom Inglis Moore, Kenneth Slessor, Manning Clark, Dymphna Cusack, Frank Hardy, Frank Sargeson, Pierre Besses, Michael Costigan, Nancy Cato and Clem Christesen.

Biographical Note:

Judah Leon Waten was born in Odessa, Russia on 29 July 1911 of Russian-Jewish parents. He came to Western Australia with his parents in 1914. He was educated at Christian Brothers' College, Perth, University High School, Melbourne after his family moved to Melbourne in 1926. Waten remained in Melbourne for the remainder of his life except when travelling in other parts of Australia, England and Europe.

Waten's first significant literary success was the appearance of a short story in the 1946 Coast to coast collection of Australian short stories. This was the first of his series of works about Jewish migrant life in Australia. Waten published seven novels, a play, a film script, a book of short stories, a short history of the 1930s in Australia and a semi-autobiographical travel book. He also published many short stories and articles which appeared in magazines and anthologies in Australia and overseas.

Waten was prominent in many Australian literary organisations including the Realist Writers group, P.E.N. the Fellowship of Australian Writers and was closely involved with overseas writers groups especially in the U.S.S.R. In 1952, 1970 and 1975 he was awarded Commonwealth Literary Fellowships. The earlier grant was surrounded by political controversy arising from his membership of the Communist Party of Australia. In 1973-1974 he was a member of the Literature Board of the Australian Council. Waten often contributed articles and reviews to Australian and overseas newspapers and lectures on Australian literature and political and cultural issues.

Waten married Hyrell McKinnon and had one daughter, Alice ("Pip"). He died in Melbourne on 29 July 1985.

Provenance:

The Judah Waten Papers were purchased from Judah Waten and his family in six instalments between 1974 and 1986.

Box List:
Box Series File(s)
1 1 1-8
2 2 1-5
3 2 6-11
4 2 12-18
5 2 19-26
6 2 27-33
7 2 34-39
8 3 1-5
9 3 6-10
10 3 11-13
11 3 14-18
12 3 19-24
13 3 25-28
14 3 29-31
15 3 32-36
16 3 37-42
17 3 43-47
18 3 48-51
19 3 52-57
20 3 58-64
21 3 65-68
21 4 1-3
22 4 4-5
22 5 1-3
23 5 4-10
24 5 11-16
25 5 17-22
26 5 23-25
26 6 1-2
27 6 3-5, 9-10
28 6 11-12,14-17
29 6 18-25
30 6 26-33
31 6 34-38
31 8 1-3
32 7 2-8
33 7 9-16
34 7 17-22
35 9 1-7
36 9 8-11
36 10 1-3
37 10 4
37 11 1-8
38 12 1-6
39 12 7-9
Folio Box 1 6 6-8
Folio Box 2 6 13

Indexed terms

Names:
Waten, Judah, 1911-1985

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1837697).
Conditions Governing Use:
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Judah Waten, National Library of Australia, MS 4536, [series /or file number]'.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact:
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