G. M. Glaskin G. M. Glaskin i(A4580 works by) (a.k.a. Gerald Marcus Glaskin; Gerry Glaskin)
Also writes as: Neville Jackson
Born: Established: 16 Dec 1923 Perth, Western Australia, ; Died: Ceased: 11 Mar 2000 Perth, Western Australia,
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

The eldest of seven children, Glaskin, a fifth generation West Australian, went to school in Perth before joining the Royal Australian Navy as a seaman in 1941. He served in the Pacific until he was injured in the Battle of the Coral Sea, and subsequently discharged. After doing some clerical work, he joined the RAAF in 1944 and was trained and commissioned in Canada as a navigator. Discharged again, he resumed clerical work until 1949, before writing his novel A World of Our Own which was published in London in 1955.

Glaskin took up a position in a stockbroking firm in Singapore from July 1949 until 1958, writing in his spare time. In 1959 he commenced writing full time and moved to Amsterdam where he lived from 1961 to 1967, before returning finally to Perth.

Gerald Glaskin was a pioneer of gay writing in Australia, scandalizing his home town of Perth with his lurid novels, which sold in their tens-of-thousands worldwide. He also wrote travel books, a memoir, works on reincarnation and parapsychology, screenplays based on his own novels and numerous short stories. His children's novel, A Waltz Through the Hills, was adapted for television. His writing has been published internationally and translated into several languages.

Glaskin also wrote Windows of the mind: Discovering your past and future lives through massage and mental exercise , a new-age spiritual guide related to the interpretation of dreams.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Several sources, including the Oxford Companion to Australian Literature refer to Glaskin's first novel A World of Our Own winning the Commonwealth Literary Award or the Commonwealth Literary Prize. Research by John Burbidge based on correspondence between Glaskin and the Commonwealth Literary Fund has shown that Glaskin applied for a Literary Fellowship in 1955 (for 1956) but his application was rejected. He also applied in 1956 (for 1957) and was awarded a fellowship for £1000, based on the success of his first novel, A World of Our Own, but for work on a second novel. He subsequently relinquished the grant because he was unable to comply with its condition that he return to Australia to accept it (he was living in Singapore at the time). Burbidge has found no reference here or in any other place in Glaskin's files or many press reports about his having won a 'literary prize' in 1955. This is corroborated by a Thomas Shapcott's book, The Literature Board: A Brief History, in which he excerpts a chapter from a booklet published by the Commonwealth Literary Fund in 1967, Helping Literature in Australia: The Work of the Commonwealth Literary Fund 1908-1966. In this excerpt is a list of all fellowship winners 1940-1972. Glaskin is listed for 1957 but not 1955.
  • Glaskin's papers are held in the Special Collections at Murdoch University Library.

Awards for Works

Sometimes It Wasn't So Nice 1948 single work short story war literature
— Appears in: The Broadcaster , 15 January 1948;
1946 third Australian School of Journalism Competition
Last amended 18 Feb 2016 16:52:14
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