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W. J. Turner W. J. Turner i(A3095 works by) (a.k.a. Walter James Turner; Walter James Redfern Turner)
Born: Established: 13 Oct 1884 South Melbourne, South Melbourne - Port Melbourne area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria, ; Died: Ceased: 18 Nov 1946 Hammersmith, London,
c
England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
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Western Europe, Europe,

Gender: Male
Expatriate assertion
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BiographyHistory

Walter James Turner was the eldest son of Walter James Turner (1857-1900), warehouseman, and his wife Alice May, nee Watson. He was educated at Scotch College and the School of Mines, before working as a clerk. In 1907 he went to London to become a writer. He spent some time in Germany and Austria in 1913-14 writing satirical sketches for the New Age and concert reviews for the Musical Standard. He served in the First World War during which he published The Hunter and Other Poems (1916), the first of sixteen volumes of poetry. From 1918-1940 he was music critic of the New Statesman and for the first few years of that period was also literary editor of the Daily Herald and drama critic for the London Mercury. From 1941-46 Turner was literary editor of the Spectator and general editor of the Britain in Pictures series. His poetry received much acclaim and was admired by his acquaintance W. B. Yeats. He acquired his musical appreciation from his father, a one-time organist of St. Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. Turner published scholarly studies of Beethoven (1927), Wagner (1933), Berlioz (1934) and Mozart (1938). Other publications include In Time Like Glass (1921) which together with The Hunter is most representative of his work. His semi-autobiographical work Blow for Balloons (1935) draws on his Melbourne boyhood. He died in London.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

Known archival holdings

Albinski 224-225
National Library of Australia (ACT)
Last amended 18 Mar 2014 12:07:34
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