Twentieth century Western Australian novelist,and short story writer
John K. Ewers
J.K. Ewers in Sydney c. 1936
Born
13 June 1904
Died
9 March 1978
Nationality
Australian
Genre
Fiction
Spouse
Jean Grant McIntyre
John Keith Ewers (13 June 1904 – 9 March 1978) was a novelist, poet, schoolteacher and short story writer from Western Australia.[1][2][3]
He was the second son of Ernest Ewers, orchardist, and his wife Annie Eliza, née Gray. When he was 6 years old, his mother died.[4] Ewers was educated at James Street Intermediate and Perth Modern schools, and at Claremont Teachers College. He began writing while he was a young teacher. The Australian Journal published in 1924 was his first short story, under the nom-de-plume, J. K. Waterjugs,[5] a play on the meaning of ewer. He wrote early on in his career in Our Rural Magazine and Walkabout.[6]
He also co-authored, with Deirdre Ellis Weston, the following grammar textbooks that were used widely throughout Western Australian schools during the 1950s to 1970s.
^Ewers, John. K (1983) Long enough for a joke : an autobiography Fremantle, W.A. : Fremantle Arts Centre Press. ISBN0-909144-72-9
^Bibby, Peter (1982) The ultimate honesty : recollections of John K. Ewers, 1904-1978, with some glimpses culled from his works / edited by Peter Bibby. Perth [W.A.] : Fellowship of Australian Writers, W.A. Branch ISBN0-909497-20-6
^ abGregory, Jenny, 'Ewers, John Keith (1904–1978)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ewers-john-keith-10138/text17901, accessed 16 July 2011. This article was first published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14, (MUP), 1996
^Telegraph linesmen of the Nor'West. Walkabout, Nov. 1938, p. 19-21
^The odyssey of the jolly swagman : presidential address delivered at Ninth Annual Corroboree of the Fellowship [of Australian Writers (W.A. Section)], held at Australian Natives' Association clubhouse, Riverside Drive, Perth, November, 1947. Perth : Fellowship of Australian Writers, W.A. Section, 1947