NLA image of person
Rodney Hall Rodney Hall i(A33541 works by)
Born: Established: 1935 Solihull, Warwickshire,
c
England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
c
Western Europe, Europe,
;
Gender: Male
Heritage: English
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

BiographyHistory

Rodney Hall was born in 1935 in Warwickshire, England, emigrating to Australia soon after World War II. In 1971 he graduated from the University of Queensland and worked at a variety of jobs related to the arts. His first volume of poetry was published in 1962. Since that time he has written ten volumes of poetry and more than ten novels, attracting a number of awards and honours, including an AM. He has edited a number of publications and acted as poetry adviser to Angus & Robertson between 1972-75. Hall has been actively involved in Aboriginal affairs and was the chairperson of the Australia Council between 1990-94.

Hall's poetry often exhibits the collective form or "progression" of poems where a series of poems cohere to form a unified whole while ably standing alone separately. His poetry is admired for its wit, its economy, and the productive exploration of myth and legend. His fiction is often experimental, and his concerns have mostly explored the culturally produced meanings of Australia, seen most vividly in the award winning Yandilli Trilogy.

Hall has lived on the far south coast of New South Wales since the early 1970s. His novel, The Day We had Hitler Home, was short-listed for the 2001 Miles Franklin Award, showing the continuing strength of his literary reputation.

In 2003 Hall was awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature by the University of Queensland in recognition of his distinguished career and his contribution to Australian literature.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Apart from the foreign language translations listed in individual records of books by Hall, there are others in Chinese where it has not been possible to determine the original English title.

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon A Stolen Season Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 2018 13513955 2018 single work novel

'Adam's life has been ruined by war ... A veteran of the Iraq conflict who has suffered such extensive bodily trauma that he can only really survive by means of a mechanical skeleton.

'Marianna's has been ruined by men ... A woman who has had to flee the country after her husband lied to the wrong people.

'John Philip's by too much money ... A man who inherits the lost erotic drawings of J. M. W. Turner in the evening of his own life.

'Rodney Hall presents the interwoven story of three people experiencing a period of life they never thought possible and, perhaps, should never have been granted at all ... Each sets out along a separate path, seeking a stolen season in which they can live on their own terms. '  (Publication summary)

2020 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards Award for Fiction
2020 longlisted International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
2019 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards Fiction
2019 shortlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
y separately published work icon Silence Sydney : Murdoch Books , 2011 Z1822145 2011 selected work short story 'Silence is an exquisite, poignant collection of 'fictions' by one of Australia's finest writers. Each piece has its own startling imagery. This is a book that constantly surprises with its echoes of famous voices, and where the astonishing breadth of material - historical, personal, imagined - is held together by its central theme and by a web of subtle connections' (Libraries Australia).
2012 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards University of Southern Queensland Australian Short Story Collection – Steele Rudd Award
y separately published work icon Popeye Never Told You : Childhood Memories of the War Sydney : Pier 9 , 2010 Z1685255 2010 single work autobiography 'In this memoir of his childhood in England during the Second World War, author Rodney Hall uses a little boy's point of view to tell the story of a time that changed the world. A time that not only changed the world, but one that would put into train events that were to shape Rodney's life. This is a rare and touching memoir. The voice of the young Rodney, the innocence with which he surveys the world and his impressions of what is going on around him, the wonderful character of his mother, her bravery and stoicism, and the many charming and lovely stories - all these combine to make this an extraordinary book that readers will fall in love with.' (From the publisher's website.)
2010 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Award for Non-Fiction
Last amended 28 Jul 2020 14:04:11
Other mentions of "" in AustLit:
    X