author
W. J. (Walter James) Turner
1884–1946
A poet, critic, and novelist with a sharp ear for music, this Australian-born writer built much of his career in England and moved easily between verse, fiction, and cultural criticism. He is best remembered for lyrical poetry such as Romance and for the wide literary circle he kept in the early 20th century.
2 Audiobooks
Orpheus; or, The music of the future
by W. J. (Walter James) Turner
The man who ate the popomack : A tragi-comedy of love in four acts
by W. J. (Walter James) Turner
About the author
Born in South Melbourne in 1884, Walter James Redfern Turner was educated in Melbourne before leaving for England in 1907 to make a life in writing. He became known as a poet during the years around the First World War and later worked across several forms, including novels, plays, essays, and criticism.
Turner also developed a reputation as a music critic, which matched the strong musical thread in his background and interests. His writing life brought him into contact with major literary figures of his time, and his poetry won notable admiration, including praise from W. B. Yeats.
Although his reputation today rests mainly on a handful of poems, Turner was a versatile man of letters whose work reflects the rich literary and musical culture of the early 20th century. He died in 1946.