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

[1]

P. R. Stephensen, circa 1934

237 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 [2], Stephensen was an archetypal man of the racially conscious Left [3]. 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 thirty books under his own name. He also translated works by Lenin and Nietzsche. On top of that, he wrote nearly seventy 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 [4].” See also his profile of Lionel Lindsay [5], which also discusses Stephensen, who was an acquaintance.

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

For other works by Stephensen, see The Percy Stephensen Collection [9].