Ireland, David (1927-2022), was an Australian novelist. In his work, Ireland criticized Australian society, which he saw as materialistic, apathetic, dehumanized, and impersonal. His writing sought to expose such social ills as foreign ownership of resources, industrial exploitation of workers, and unemployment. He often wrote in a surrealistic style filled with black humor and a great amount of detail.
Ireland became known for his first novel, The Chantic Bird (1968). It is the story of an antisocial and predatory teenage psychopath. Ireland won the Miles Franklin Literary Award three times, for The Unknown Industrial Prisoner (1971), The Glass Canoe (1976), and A Woman of the Future (1979). Perhaps Ireland’s most celebrated work is A Woman of the Future, a science-fiction novel that explores Australia’s self-image in the form of diaries and notes written by an 18-year-old girl. His other novels include The Flesheaters (1972), City of Women (1981), Archimedes and the Seagle (1984), Bloodfather (1988), The Chosen (1997), and The World Repair Video Game (2015). Ireland also wrote a play, Image in the Clay (1964).
David Neil Ireland was born on Aug. 24, 1927, in Lakemba, Sydney. He worked at a variety of jobs before becoming a full-time writer in 1973. He died on July 26, 2022.
