Palmer, Vance (1885-1959), an Australian author, excelled in character sketches and studies of ordinary people in his short stories, plays, and novels. He is also considered one of the founders of Australian drama. Many of Palmer’s works have a political theme. His best-known novel is The Passage (1930), a family chronicle. He also wrote the trilogy of novels Golconda (1948), Seedtime (1957), and The Big Fellow (1959). His short stories were published in Separate Lives (1931), Sea and Spinifex (1934), Let the Birds Fly (1955), and The Rainbow Bird (1956). He also wrote two volumes of poetry and several collections of essays and literary criticism. With the Australian playwright Louis Esson, Palmer established the Pioneer Players in Melbourne during the 1920’s. This theater company specialized in plays with Australian themes.
Edward Vance Palmer was born on Aug. 28, 1885, in Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia. He worked for several years in a variety of jobs in the Australian outback and also served with Australian forces during World War I (1914-1918). Palmer died on July 15, 1959.
