AustLit logo

AustLit

A. A. Phillips A. A. Phillips i(A15051 works by) (a.k.a. Arthur Angell Phillips)
Born: Established: 13 Aug 1900 Melbourne, Victoria, ; Died: Ceased: 4 Nov 1985 Melbourne, Victoria,
Gender: Male
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

BiographyHistory

A. A. Phillips was born in Melbourne and attended Melbourne Grammar and Melbourne University with distinction. After completing a B.Litt and a Diploma of Education at Oxford University, he returned to Melbourne in 1925 and began a forty-six year career as school master at Wesley College.

In the 1930s Phillips was a broadcaster, discussing books worth reading, and was an active member of several literary societies. His interest in Australian literature was aroused after a request to provide a list of Australian poets for a British Empire anthology revealed to him the quality of Australian literature. He became an important proponent of Australian literature with his many talks and essays during the 1940s and 1950s. His essay from 1950, "The Cultural Cringe", attempted to show the importance of Australian literature in its own right and provided a new term for the Australian lexicon. His reputation as a critic was firmly established in 1958 when The Australian Tradition was published. By casting the democratic nature of 1890s literature as the foundation of an Australian tradition, this book played a large part in elevating the 1890s to a prominent position in Australian literary criticism. Phillips published several more books on Australian literature and wrote prolifically for periodicals and newspapers such as Meanjin, Overland, the Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.

A. A. Phillips received an honorary doctorate from Melbourne University in 1975 and was made a foundation member of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature (ASAL) in 1978. He died in Melbourne in 1985.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

Henry Lawson as Craftsman 1948 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Australian Tradition : Studies in a Colonial Culture 1958; (p. 1-17) The Australian Tradition : Studies in a Colonial Culture 1966; (p. 1-16) On Native Grounds : Australian Writing from Meanjin Quarterly 1967; (p. 63-72) Henry Lawson Criticism 1894-1971 1972; (p. 281-294)

— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 7 no. 2 1948; (p. 80-90) Twentieth Century Australian Literary Criticism 1967; (p. 181-193)
Phillips rejects the view that Lawson's prose lacks technical virtuosity. Phillips argues that Lawson's aim was not to tell a story, but to evoke the quality of Australian living. Lawson's spare narratives, effective understatement and ironic twists within a symmetrical structure produce stories of substantial artistic value.
1946 winner Montague Grover Memorial Competition Essay Prize
Last amended 10 May 2017 15:07:26
Other mentions of "" in AustLit:
    X