Remembering P. R. Stephensen:
November 20, 1901 to May 28, 1965

P. R. Stephensen, circa 1934

222 words

Percy Reginald Stephensen was born on November 20, 1901. Stephensen was a writer, publisher, and political activist dedicated to the interests of the white race and the Australian nation. Like Jack London, Stephensen was an archetypal man of the racially conscious left. He began his political career as a Communist but later moved to the nationalistic, anti-Semitic Right. From 1942 to 1945, he was interned without trial for his pro-German and pro-Japanese sympathies.

Early in his career as a publisher, Stephensen championed the works of Nietzsche, D. H. Lawrence, and Aleister Crowley. Later, he worked to promote a distinctly Australian national literature and culture. As a political organizer and propagandist, he worked for an Australia First economic and foreign policy.

Stephensen was a prolific author. He published over 30 under his own name. He also translated works by Lenin and Nietzsche. On top of that, he wrote nearly 70 books as a ghostwriter for Frank Clune.

To learn more about Stephensen’s life and work, read Kerry Bolton’s biographical essay, “P. R. Stephensen.”

I also wish to draw your attention to the following works by Stephensen on this site:

• Australia First Manifesto
• “The Foundations of Culture in Australia: An Essay Towards National Self-Respect” (Excerpts from Part One)
• “A Reasoned Case Against Semitism”

For other works by Stephensen, see The Percy Stephensen Collection online: http://home.alphalink.com.au/~radnat/stephensen/index.html