As I’ve done in recent years, I decided to start a little Monday Musings sub-series drawing on researching Trove to get a picture of Australian literature a century ago, that is, in 1925. One of the things that popped up as I started this year’s Trove trawl was the existence of an active community of people enjoying literary activities in the company of others, including through various literary and arts societies. I’m going to focus on two such societies.
Australian Literature Society
The most serious was probably the Australian Literature Society. I wrote a little about this society in one of my 1922 posts, so won’t spend a lot of time on it here. Essentially, it was formed in Melbourne in 1899, aimed at encouraging the study of both Australian literature and Australian authors. It still exists today, as a result of its merging in 1982 into the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. It is a scholarly organisation.
In the 1920s, it held meetings that were open to the public and were reported publicly in the newspapers. They presented lectures, held “review” nights, dramatic nights, a “woman’s night” (which I have researched for the Australian Women Writers blog), and more. So, for example, in 1925, they held a review night in May at which papers were presented reviewing Australian works. One work reviewed was Myra Morris’ Us five, a children’s book published in 1922. The Age (May 12) reports that J. McKellar’s paper (read by someone else) “said Miss Morris had woven a garland perfumed with the delicate flowers of fancy and imagination” but her book had been neglected. The question was how “to galvanise the Australian reading public into a realisation of the good work Australians were doing”. Other writers reviewed included Dowell O’Reilly, Bancroft Boake, and Conrad Sayce, mostly little known now.
At their dramatic meeting in September, they presented four “playlets” by Australian writers, three of them women, including Mary Simpson (whom we have featured on the Australian Women Writers blog). In other words their events focused very much, as per their aims, on Australian writing.
Australian Institute of Arts and Literature
This society is referred to by variations of its names in the papers, including the Australian Institute of the Arts and Literature and the Australian Institution of Arts and Literature. Minor differences perhaps, but why is there such sloppiness about getting the names of organisations right? It still happens!
Anyhow, this Institute was quite different from the ALS – and a big distinction is there in its name. It’s not about “Australian” literature, but is an Australian organisation interested in “arts and literature”. Like the ALS, it has a Wikipedia article, but unlike the ALS, it was short-lived. It seems to have been founded in Melbourne in 1921 and it folded around 1930. According to Wikipedia, the club gained significantly in status and membership numbers when lawyer and respected public servant, Sir Robert Garran, became president. However, 1927, he was transferred to Canberra and, again according to Wikipedia, “the Institute felt his loss keenly, and never recovered”.
However, during its heyday, it was highly active, meeting weekly during some of this time, and providing much entertainment and cultural nourishment for its members/attendees. Many of the meetings were reported in the papers. As Melbourne’s Table Talk (4 June) wrote, “music played an important part” in the pleasure of the meetings. And, while there was some music composed by Australians – specifically Louis Lavater whom Wikipedia describes as “a gifted leader of music in rural Victoria” – most of the music performed were the standards (Handel, Beethoven, and Mozart for example). However, there was one event devoted to Russian music, with songs by Gretchaninoff, Kveneman, Tchaikowsky; violin pieces by Wieniawski and Rimsky-Korsakov; and piano works by Rachmaninoff, Rebikoff and Liadow*. The report in Melbourne’s The Age (27 June) describes it “as altogether a programme out of the beaten track”. The music was followed by the clearly all-round Lavatar giving a lecture on “The Sonnet” which, the report said, dealt “sympathetically and appreciatively” with the work of “many of our sonnet writers during the past century”. I don’t know how long these meetings were, but it seems like they packed a lot in.
I’ll give one more example, this one reported by The Argus (31 August), which called it a varied program, “covering literature, music, and the drama”. So, ‘Louis Lavater, poet and composer, read a short paper supplementary to one previously given on “The Sonnet,” and dealing this time specially with some of the more important written in Australasia’. In addition, Vera Buck gave “an enjoyable piano and song recital” including two songs she’d composed (sung by Mary Killey); and Marie Tuck played piano pieces by Schumann (six delightful “Scenes from Childhood”), Beethoven, Chopin, and Schubert. Also, Frank Goddard, from the Melbourne Repertory Society, “gave two capital recitations”, and Don Mather and Pauline Abrahams acted the “Helen and Modus” scene from Sheridan Knowles’ drama, The Hunchback. Phew!
I think you get the gist. While it lasted, this was an active organisation and must have brought so much pleasure to Melbourne’s “culture vultures” (can I say that?).
Are you aware of any literary organisations from the past, where you abide?
* These are the spellings used in the report.
Whispering Gums 
I subscribe to the ALS Journal which is always full of interesting stuff, not that I ever have/make time to read it. And have I seen it recently? I’d better check my subscription
I had never given much thought to “joining” literary organisations, (I have just joined my first book club after all these decades!) But I did look after Bill’s mention of the ALS and see a subscription is very reasonably priced indeed. :…one thousand essays, from 1963 to the present.” represents very good value, I would have thought.
It’s great value fourtriplezed. And I like supporting it.
I hope you enjoy your Bookgroup. I love mine.
So far very enjoyable, but I am the only male participant.
Good for you. How many in the group and what are your first books? I love hearing about reading groups.
I have only been to 2 so far but will be keeping up appearances as I have thoroughly enjoyed it. First was Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. I joined too late to read it, so had a listen to opinions and asked a couple of questions. I now have a copy, but am a bit of a way off reading it. It received mixed reports on the night but it seems like something I may like. The 2nd was The Season by Helen Garner. Mixed reports again. I personally got little out of it. Next up is Brideshead Revisited and as I have read that twice before I decided to have an audio listen by Jeremy Irons. I am an unabashed lover of it, so have had a very pleasant surprise that Irons narration has taken nothing away from it, if anything enhanced it. I will sing its praises. The next book that the chair was thinking of doing was Dusk by Robby Arnott. I have read that as well and enjoyed. I will not read it again as it is fresh in the memory, but I liked it, so will be keen to hear what others have to say.
Sounds like a good range of books … the sort my group would do. So, the chair chooses the books? Is it a library group?
It is held at the local community centre. It is run by a lady who is connected to independent Brisbane bookstore Avid Reader. When I purchase a new book I always use Avid so have no issue with the connection. 20 is fine for a good discussion, IMO. The more the merrier is my attitude. How many is the norm in general, I suppose, is the question. I am about 18 months off retirement and suspect I will look to join others once that happens. I have enjoyed the face to face interaction so far.
Ah yes, I am on the Avid email list because I attended an online event during COVID. They seem like a really active bookshop.
For me 20 is way too many! My group finds that more is not necessarily merrier but it probably depends on the sort of merriness you want! We meet homes which limits our numbers but in fact we cap our number at 12, and while we like every member, we usually have the best discussions when there’s only seven or eight, because with more there’s a tendency for side discussions to happen. But we don’t have a formal chair who controls discussion which it sounds like yours does.
Also, in a bigger group like yours, you could turn up not having read the book and it’s not really a problem, whereas in our group we really expect everyone to have read the book. There’s no issue when people haven’t read it or haven’t finished it. It happens of course but we wouldn’t work well if it happened regularly.
I love that you hope to join more when you retire!
I don’t mind how many, as I am always interested in other opinions. I do like the idea of your smaller group.
I understand that … I was in a couple of online groups for several years and I loved all the interchange of ideas we had but in the end I couldn’t keep up.
And about 20 in the group. (Need more blokes)
Twenty is a lot for good discussion?
Yes I do too Bill … but I don’t read it regularly either. I sometimes dip into the archives which you can do if you subscribe. I love that aspect of subscribing.
I wonder if there are working-class literary organizations that existed. I know that in Detroit, Michigan, the Broadside Press was a working-class-focused press. Two living writers in the U.S. that I can think of who focus on making writing accessible and appeal to working-class folks are Dave Newman and Jim Daniels. Bill @ The Australian Legend would love both of them.
Oh yes absolutely they did, Melanie, and I have written about them before. The Mechanics Institutes/Schools of Arts were a workingman’s movement in Australia … their buildings are still evident in many Australian towns. Their names varied as did their goals from educational to more recreational but they played a significant role in Australian society.
Wonderful!
I often photograph the buildings when I’m on road trips. They are such a great part of our literary history.
It DOES sound like they fit an awful lot in indeed! I enjoy reading about such organisations too. There’s one here called The Women’s Canadian Club and then the chapters are based in particular cities, the city name following the club name to distinguish them. They are not just arts and literature, but also history and science. When I was working in a bookstore years ago, the tickets for that chapter’s literary events were sold there.