Guide to the Papers of Jack Beasley
MS 9266
National Library of Australia
| Date completed: | October 1998 |
| Last updated: | May 2001 |
Table of Contents
Collection Summary
Introduction
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Access
Copying and Publishing
Preferred Citation
Provenance
Biographical Note
Series List and Descriptions
Series 1 General correspondence, 1959-1996
Series 2 The rage for life: the work of Katharine Susannah Prichard, 1961-1978
Series 3 'My unilateral debate: Katharine Susannah Prichard and matters pertaining', 1964-1983
Series 4 A gallop of fire: Katharine Susannah Prichard: on guard for humanity: a study of creative personality, 1960-1993
Series 5 Red letter days: notes from inside an era, 1959-1993
Series 6 Widdershins, 1967-1993
Series 7 Journal of an era: notes from the red letter days, 1967-1992
Series 8 Plays, 1980-1987
Series 9 Miscellaneous writings, 1975-1978
Series 10 Records of the Wedgetail Press, 1986-1994
Series 11 Political papers, 1954-1994
Series 12 Miscellaneous papers, 1947-1994 (bulk 1975-1994)
Series 13 Cassettes, 1963-1993
Container List
Container List
Collection Summary
| Creator: | Beasley, Jack, 1921- |
| Title: | Papers of Jack Beasley |
| Date Range: | 1947-1999 |
| Collection Number: | MS 9266 |
| Extent: | 4.36 m (23 boxes + 2 folio boxes) |
| Repository: | National Library of Australia |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, drafts material for various works, political papers, Wedgetail Press records and cassettes. |
Introduction
Scope and Content
The collection comprises correspondence, drafts of The rage for life (1964), 'My unilateral debate: Katharine Susannah Prichard and matters pertaining' (in Australian Literary Studies, vol. 11, no. 7, Oct. 1983), A gallop of fire (1993), Red letter days (1979), Widdershins (1986), Journal of an era (1988), plays, miscellaneous literary writings, including children's stories, political papers, Wedgetail Press records and cassettes.
The principal correspondents are Neil Stewart, Alan Marshall, Judah Waten, John Morrison, Ralph de Boissiere and Elsie McConnell. Other correspondents include Katharine Susannah Prichard, A.A. Phillips, Dorothy Hewett, Noel Counihan, Ric Throssell and Carole Ferrier.
Arrangement
Beasley had kept the papers in good order and, wherever possible, this arrangement has been preserved by the Library.
Copying and Publishing
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Jack Beasley, National Library of Australia, MS 9266, [series and/or folder number]'.
Biographical Note
Jack Beasley was born in Merewether, NSW, in 1921. He worked as an electrical fitter at the BHP steelworks in Newcastle (1936-1941) and later he worked at the Bunnerong Power Station in Sydney.
For many years Beasley was an active member of the Communist Party of Australia. He had a strong interest in the arts, including the theatre, ballet and music, and he was closely associated with the Australasian Book Society which published or re-issued 87 books. In his memoirs, Red letter days: notes from inside an era, Beasley wrote about the Society and some of his fellow-writers of the 1950s and 1960s, such as Alan Marshall, Frank Hardy and Judah Waten. Beasley edited three books which were published by the Society: Price Warung's Convict days (1960), The tracks we travel: second collection including Mary Gilmore Award stories (1961) and Red letter days (1979).
Beasley worked in retail advertising and promotion between 1963 and 1977 and in the late 1980s he had his own publishing venture, Wedgetail Press, through which he published three of his own books. One of these, his novel Widdershins, contains autobiographical elements.
Beasley's published works include the following:
| Socialism and the novel: a study of Australian literature [Published privately], 1957 |
| The tracks we travel: second collection including Mary Gilmore Award stories Sydney: Australasian Book Society, 1961 |
| The rage for life: the work of Katharine Susannah Prichard Sydney: Current Book Distributors, 1964 |
| Red letter days: notes from inside an era Sydney: Australasian Book Society, 1979 |
| Widdershins Earlwood, NSW: Wedgetail Press, 1986 |
| Journal of an era: notes from the red letter days Earlwood, NSW: Wedgetail Press, 1988 |
| A gallop of fire: Katharine Susannah Prichard: on guard for humanity: a study of creative personality Earlwood, NSW: Wedgetail Press, 1993 |
Series List and Descriptions
Series 1 General correspondence, 1959-1996
Correspondence with other writers concerning their writing, work, reading and personal news, as well as Australian and world politics. The correspondents include Alan Marshall, Ralph de Boissiere, Judah Waten, Neil Stewart, John Morrison, Elsie McConnell, Katharine Susannah Prichard, A.A. Phillips, Dorothy Hewett, Noel Counihan, Ric Throssell, Harry Heseltine, Eric Fry, David Carter, Carole Ferrier, Stephen Holt and John Hetherington.
Series 2 The rage for life: the work of Katharine Susannah Prichard, 1961-1978
The rage for life was Beasley's first book on Katharine Susannah Prichard. It was published by Current Book Distributors in 1964. The series include handwritten drafts, typescript, notes, reviews and some correspondence.
Series 3 'My unilateral debate: Katharine Susannah Prichard and matters pertaining', 1964-1983
Beasley's article on Prichard was published in Australian Literary Studies (vol. 11, no. 7, Oct. 1983). The series includes handwritten drafts, research material, notes, cuttings and correspondence.
Series 4 A gallop of fire: Katharine Susannah Prichard: on guard for humanity: a study of creative personality, 1960-1993
The book was published by the Wedgetail Press in 1993. The series include drafts, notes, cuttings, reviews, correspondence and copies of some of Prichard's books. The rage for life, Working bullocks, Coonardoo and The black opal contain annotations for use in writing A gallop of fire.
Series 5 Red letter days: notes from inside an era, 1959-1993
In the 1950s Beasley became involved in the Australasian Book Society, an organisation which published or re-issued 87 books. In Red letter days, published by the Australasian Book Society in 1979, Beasley wrote about the history of the Society and the lives of some of the radical writers of the 1950s and 1960s. The series, which includes drafts, notes, cuttings and some correspondence, has been arranged according to the chapters of the book.
Subseries 5.1 Alan Marshall
Folder 1-2 Handwritten drafts and corrected typescripts
Folder 3 Typescripts (including those not used in the book)
Folder 4 One black and white photograph
Folder 5-8 Research notes, cuttings and other papers, 1971-1981
Subseries 5.2 Frank Hardy
Folder 9-11 Drafts, notes and cuttings, 1969-1980
Folder 12-13 Drafts, notes and cuttings, 1982-1994
Folder 14 Miscellaneous papers
Subseries 5.3 Judah Waten
Folder 15 Drafts
Folder 16 Notes and one notebook
Folder 17-18 Cuttings, 1974-1993
Subseries 5.4 The Australasian Book Society
Folder 19-20 Notes and drafts
Folder 21 Correspondence, 1976-1983
Folder 22 Newsletters, circulars and other papers, 1967-1977
Folder 23 Cuttings, 1960-1974
Folder 24 Copies of Overland (1959-1963) and correspondence (1976), 1959-1976
Subseries 5.5 'Red letter days'
Folder 25 Handwritten drafts of the chapter 'Red letter days'
Folder 26 Cuttings and drafts
Folder 27 Typescript 1978
Folder 28-30 Printer's proofs
Folder 31 Correspondence, 1979-1980
Folder 32 Business correspondence, including accounts, agreement with publisher and other papers, 1976-1981
Folder 33 Dust jacket (folio 1)
Folder 34 Scrap folder (folio 2) 1979
Series 6 Widdershins, 1967-1993
Widdershins (Wedgetail Press, 1986) was Beasley's first published novel. It contains autobiographical elements that were re-created as fiction. The series includes drafts, cuttings, notes and some correspondence.
Folder 6 Drafts of Beasley's letters to his son, Michael, copies of Michael's letters to Beasley and autobiographical notes, 1967-1973
Series 7 Journal of an era: notes from the red letter days, 1967-1992
The book was published by the Wedgetail Press in 1988. The series include drafts, notes, cuttings and some correspondence.
Series 8 Plays, 1980-1987
Drafts, notes, cuttings and correspondence relating to 'Diary of a murder' and 'Ladies delight'. The correspondents are Ray Lawler, Robyn Archer and Clem Gorman of the Australian National Playwrights Conference.
Series 9 Miscellaneous writings, 1975-1978
The series contains drafts, reviews, photographs and notes of Beasley's other writings, including stories for children and an introduction for Dorothy Hewett's play This old man comes rolling home (1976).
Series 10 Records of the Wedgetail Press, 1986-1994
Beasley owned a publishing company, the Wedgetail Press. The series contains Wedgetail Press financial records.
Series 11 Political papers, 1954-1994
Beasley was an active member of the Communist Party of Australia for many years. The series includes notes, cuttings and leaflets relating to his political activities.
Series 12 Miscellaneous papers, 1947-1994 (bulk 1975-1994)
The series includes notebooks containing records of Beasley's visit to China, representing the Communist Party of Australia, in 1957-1958, papers concerning other writers and the Public Lending Right, and correspondence concerning the Australia Council's Fellowships.
Folder 7 Correspondence with Australia Council, concerning Beasley's applications for Fellowships, 1975-1980
Folder 8-9 Photocopies of miscellaneous journal articles, including 'Near the wharves' by Judah Waten, 'The wire fences of Jarrabin' by Dorothy Hewett, 'The native bears' by Roland Robinson and 'Transition' by Frank Dalby Davison
Folder 10 Papers concerning a proposed publication entitled 'Profile'.
Following the demise of the Australasian Book Society, the draft was given to Eric Fry and it was later published as Rebels and radicals (edited by Eric Fry, 1983).
Series 13 Cassettes, 1963-1993
11 cassettes containing various interviews, including one with Beasley by Caroline Jones, interviews with Judah Waten, Frank Hardy, Joe Waters, Ralph de Boisiere, George Seelaf and Alan Marshall and a story-reading by Katharine Susannah Prichard.
Container List
| Series | Folder/Item | Box |
| 1 | 1-8 | 1 |
| 1 | 9-13 | 2 |
| 2 | 1-5 | 2 |
| 3 | 1-6 | 3 |
| 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | 2-5 | 4 |
| 4 | 6-11 | 5 |
| 4 | 12-19 | 6 |
| 5 | 1-8 | 7 |
| 5 | 9-14 | 8 |
| 5 | 15-18 | 9 |
| 5 | 19-26 | 10 |
| 5 | 27-30 | 11 |
| 5 | 31-32 | 12 |
| 6 | 1-3 | 12 |
| 6 | 4-7 | 13 |
| 6 | 8-13 | 14 |
| 6 | 14 | 15 |
| 7 | 1-5 | 15 |
| 7 | 6-8 | 16 |
| 8 | 1-3 | 16 |
| 8 | 4-9 | 17 |
| 8 | 10-13 | 18 |
| 9 | 1-2 | 18 |
| 9 | 3-8 | 19 |
| 10 | 1-4 | 20 |
| 11 | 1-5 | 21 |
| 12 | 1 | 21 |
| 12 | 2-8 | 22 |
| 12 | 9-12 | 23 |
| 13 | 1 | 23 |
Container List
| Series | Folio Items | Folio Box |
| 5 | 1-2 | 1 |
| 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | 2-4 | 2 |